Sonic Adventure 3 (Book 1): Sonic Forces - Aftermath
by GiUMUS
Summary: The Resistance thought they had won the war; but Infinite would rise again, leading to a fight that will cause the Phantom Ruby to give rise to a race of beings known as the Phantoms, which seek to change the past and rule Sonic's World. Join the Resistance and Eggman to stop this new threat before all of Mobius is lost and stuck in a new timeline!
1. Chapter 1: Infinite's End

(NOTES:

1\. In this book, you may replace "{Buddy}" with yourself or your Avatar (from Sonic Forces), and replace the pronouns accordingly.

2\. "[…]" indicate a translation so that a reader can understand what is really being said in an unknown language (spoken by any one of the Phantoms). Please note that any character hearing the translated portions are hearing it in the unknown tongue, so they do not understand what is being said.)

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 _Infinite's End_

After being defeated, Infinite could no longer bear his shame. He stood in a corner as the war outside was still waging on. After a while, he could feel that the doctor had been defeated, because he could no longer feel the Phantom Ruby Prototype providing him power. He knew his efforts were all done in vain at this point. As Classic Sonic, Modern Sonic, and the Mobian that Infinite greatly underestimated ({Buddy}) fought the creature that was dormant inside of the Death Egg Robot, Infinite was in deep thought.

'All this time I've wasted! For what purpose did I try? To make a new name for me? To become stronger? Was all of this worth it?', Infinite thought to himself. He realized that what he really wanted was his squad, his family, his friends. His squad was everything to him and being a mercenary was his best niche. He lost all that he tried to forget by joining some great scientist that ended up failing. Infinite truly felt weak now, he couldn't hide his face. He felt ashamed at his decisions and began to regret everything he had done. 'What could I do now?', he questioned himself in thought.

There was a long moment of silence as if the world was standing still. Infinite felt an unsettling feeling within him, yet the moment was so silent, almost serene. He knew it was over, that everything he had done was for nothing, the darkness is over. Eggman had lost and the Empire was no longer going to maintain its control. It was the end of the end and would become the beginning of something new.

After Eggman had made his way back to what remained of his Empire in ruin, he could barely maintain his sanity as his face was red with anger, for this is the side of Eggman that most (us fans) never see. The door to his base opened as a mad Eggman stomped in as Orbot and Cubot met him. He pushed Orbot out of the way and kicked Cubot, sending him spinning and rolling away. "GAGHH! I HAD THAT PESKY RESISTANCE IN MY HANDS!", Eggman yelled, as Orbot and Cubot stabilized and shook in programmed fear. Eggman made his way towards his lab as he knocked over equipment and other objects in his path; but, he noticed the figure in one of the corners of the room.

"YOU!", Eggman directed angrily at Infinite while pointing. "You! I thought you would surely be able to handle Sonic and his 'partner'! But you failed me! You let them escape, you let them take advantage! We wouldn't have lost had it not been for your actions!" Eggman took a moment to pause, waiting for a response, but Infinite did not move as he just stood there with his arms folded and head down in total silence. "So you have nothing to say in your defense? Well then, I guess this means you accept that you are just as you were before you joined me, nothing!" Enraged, Eggman ordered a command: "Eggrobos, seize Infinite, immediately!", and some Eggrobos seized Infinite and took him over to a chair, as Eggman further directed them; meanwhile, Eggman went over to a small cabinet and got a syringe and filled it with some pinkish substance before walking over to where Infinite was taken.

Infinite was too weak to do anything as the doctor strapped him down and secured him to the chair. "I have no place anymore, my name means nothing now, and I am completely ashamed of myself.", said Infinite. "As you should be! And today, you no longer are apart of the Eggman Empire, you're just a ragtag, worthless, weak, invaluable Jackal!", said Eggman, as he stuck the needle into Infinite's shoulder, injecting the pinkish substance from the syringe into him. Infinite could only listen to his words and accepted them as the truth. Infinite began to feel lightheaded and passed out as Eggman went into another section of the lab to get some tools and equipment before returning to where Infinite was. Eggman began to use the special equipment he retrieved to remove the Phantom Ruby Prototype from Infinite's chest.

After successfully removing the Phantom Ruby Prototype from Infinite's chest, Eggman went to the laundry section of his base, got a garbage bag, returned to where Infinite was, loosened the bag up, unstrapped Infinite from the chair, and bagged him up. He walked over to his garage and hopped into his Egg Mobile with the bag and started up the hovercraft as he opened the garage door, and then flew out. He flew far away and didn't near any populated areas, and eventually found a dense forest. Eggman landed his craft and tossed the bag into a bush. "Like the garbage you really are.", said Eggman; he then returned to his base.

Back at his base, Eggman stamped into his lab, went to his chair in his office, located next to the lab, and sat down to think. He wondered what to do because there was a lot of things that needed to be done and a lot of planning to do for the future. He summoned the Eggrobos and ordered them to go out into Earth/Mobius and gather all the scraps and parts of his robots and mechs. Eggman planned to recycle or repurpose the materials for new projects or for storage to be used later. He started to pace around, asking himself, "How could my greatest weapon, the Death Egg Robot fail!? I, the smartest doctor in the world became the ultimate form of life and yet I still lost! I lose every time no matter what, but why!?" He returned to his desk and sat in his chair, frustrated, then began typing up a summary of his recent failures in a document on his computer so that his next strategy and plans could be more of a success. Eggman continued his work as hours passed until it was dark outside; meanwhile after dark, far away, a new beginning was happening.

"AGH!", screamed Infinite as he tore out of the bag, maskless, staring into the dark forest around him from the bush he was in. "I guess this is it for Me. There's nothing else, my name is ruined, my squad is gone, I have nothing now.", he continued. Since it was getting late, he stayed in the bush and wrapped himself with the trash bag and went to sleep. He woke up several times as he had several nightmares throughout the night. One is the defeat of his squad, another of his recent failures, and more. The night was long for Infinite, but a new journey would begin for him in the morning.

It was morning, as Infinite awoke from a long night of torment. He stumbled out of the bushes and onto the forest floor; he had no mask and no hope, but this was another chance for him. A new beginning was starting, a new journey for the Jackal named Infinite, it was up to him to walk on a new path. He could make a new name for himself and leave all of his shame and actions behind him. What will he do? Start a new squad? Travel the world? The possibilities are endless.


	2. Chapter 2: A Jackal's Ultimate Revenge

**Chapter 2**

 _A Jackal's Ultimate Revenge_

After the defeat of the Death Egg Robot, as Modern Sonic, Classic Sonic, and the Resistance's greatest recruit all ({Buddy}) homing attacked the strange creature, Eggman was making his way out of the head of the Death Egg Robot. The creature let out a screech as Eggman was able to get into his Egg Mobile and fly back to his base. This creature, the Nega Wisp, had been transformed by the Phantom Ruby; now defeated, it exploded. The Phantom Ruby fell from the internal structure of the Nega Wisp, but no one noticed as it hit the ground, skidded, and flipped over a few times before finally stopping near some rubble. Too busy to notice, the Resistance could finally get a break; unfortunately for them, their victory would only be short-lived overnight.

Later, after Eggman had given some Eggrobos the order to collect scraps, a few Eggrobos were scavenging through the rubble that laid all about the roads of Metropolis. Metals, rubber, gears, advanced mechanisms, and much more were being collected, but one Eggrobo noticed a pink object lying near a pile of rubble. The object glimmered in the dim orange sun, as the Eggrobo went to it. It grabbed the item as the sun dipped under the city's smallest structures, ending the sunset. The Eggrobo felt a jolt as the Phantom Ruby glowed; the robot started glowing and shook with energy as its headpiece came loose and clanked against its midpiece.

The robot lit up as a bright pink, nearing a white color, and within moments, it was completely transformed! It was now Heavy Knight, a new Hard-Boiled Heavy! The body was the same in proportion as its predecessors, but the primary color was black. It had curvy shoulder armor and rounded guards at each bar between the ball joints. Its head was a cone shape that had a movable cage that which you would see on a knight's helm, which covered its face. Instead of chrome ligaments, they were gold, this included the head and any ball joints. It had a basic knight's blade at its left side for combat, and beneath all the armor would be a golden chainmail design on the body itself. It now had free will, but only to a degree; for the Phantom Ruby had something special planned, and the Heavy Knight would be very much a part of it.

The Heavy Knight knew what it needed to do, as it ran off, leaving Metropolis. It was headed for Eggman's base, which it reached after some time, and upon its arrival, it didn't get near to the base so that it could remain hidden. After a while, Heavy Knight spotted Eggman's Egg Mobile flying off, so it followed it, the Phantom Ruby secured inside its metal pocket. It followed Eggman a long way away from the base and stopped a good distance away in a bush that was behind two trees that were close together. It peered through the space between the two trees as it watched Eggman throw a bag out into a bush, it waited until Eggman had left and was out of sight before doing anything. It was too quiet and early to do anything because Infinite was sedated; so the robot waited until morning, where it could complete the Phantom Ruby's task.

That morning, after Infinite had awoken and left the bush he had been in, Heavy Knight still patiently waited for the right opportunity. Infinite finally started leaving the area, and Heavy Knight began to silently follow him, keeping his distance, but slowly got closer. As Infinite reached the edge of the forest, he felt as if he were being watched. He looked around and saw nothing. "Hmm. Is someone following me?", Infinite asked himself. He turned back around and saw Heavy Knight standing in front of him, holding the Phantom Ruby. "What!?", Infinite exclaimed. Heavy Knight went to a knee and held out his hand to offer Infinite the Phantom Ruby, while Infinite was unsure how to react.

The Phantom Ruby glowed as Infinite could only look and wonder. "What does this mean? Who are you? The Phantom Ruby?", Infinite asked, but got no reply. He had the urge to reach out and take the ruby as if it were calling to him; but at the same time, he felt that he ought not to. The moment seemed to last forever, but it was only less than half a minute, and infinite decided to take the ruby from the strange, Knightly figure. Immediately, Infinite was filled with energy and power. "AGHH! What's happening to me!?", Infinite responded to the experience. He began to glow and felt empowered; he began to lust for more as he glowed a pink color, starting to transform, becoming Phantom Infinite.

Infinite's quills started to point up and his features were changing. The Phantom Ruby emitted a pulse of energy and Infinite was reunited with the Phantom Ruby Prototype, as it was on his chest again. He lusted for more power as he fully transformed into a superstate! He now felt that he could take on the world, and take revenge on everyone that has stood against him and done him wrong. With this power, he would begin to take over the world and allow the Phantom Ruby to complete its task; but what is its ultimate agenda?

Infinite understood now and headed back to Eggman's base, following Heavy Knight. Both arrived and Infinite beamed the entire door off as Eggman heard the commotion and ran to see the what was happening! "Today, I will take revenge and the world!", said Infinite. "What!? Now, wait. I'm sure there's something I can do to make up for this. I have the tools and brains, we can still work together to take over the world! Right?", the doctor asked with alarm then continued with hesitation. Infinite just stared down at him and held out his arm with his palm facing towards Eggman. "No.", said Infinite, as he fired a beam of energy at Eggman, while his Eggrobos came to his aid, only to be met by Heavy Knight, which began slicing through them.

"AAAGH!", screamed Eggman, as his arm was beamed clean off of his shoulder. Blood was pouring from where his shoulder would be as a few of the robots were able to pull him back into the base and began to work on him after getting him to into a chair. Eggman was losing a vast amount of blood and started to lose consciousness, the situation was critical and Eggman was dying. The noise of Heavy Knight slashing through his robots and the sound of Infinite causing destruction around the base began to sound muffled to Eggman, a loud ringing followed as the noise started to fade out; Eggman closed his eyes, took one more breath, and died; or so it appeared. (Pause). The Eggrobos continued to try and work as the Heavy Knight continued its onslaught on the base; meanwhile, Infinite left, leaving a path of fire and total destruction as he beamed the ground and launched balls of destruction in all directions around him. Infinite passed over cities, causing more destruction than there already was; meanwhile, the Resistances computer was picking up major collateral activity near the Mystic Jungle.

Tails walked over to the computer; "Uh oh! Looks like we got problems!", said Tails. "Already!?", said Sonic. "What!?", said Vector and a few others. "Egghead just doesn't know when to quit!", remarked Knuckles. "Whatever it is, it's powerful!", explained Tails. Sonic: "We better head out and see what's going on before Eggman causes any further damage!" Charmy and Silver: "Yeah!" Amy was looking worried along with Vector, "Let's not waste time, we're not done yet!", Knuckles added. So, Sonic, Silver, and Espio, with some soldiers, left the base and head straight for the Mystic Jungle.

The heroes encountered Infinite before they could even reach the Mystic Jungle, they were standing at the edge of a small town that Infinite had been destroying. "What a pleasant surprise, meeting you all. Now I can get revenge on you. Hahaha-HAHAHAHA!", Infinite claimed and laughed. "We beat you before, and we can do it again!", Sonic said with confidence. "Is that what Infinite looks like without a mask?", asked Silver. "I don't know, and I don't care.", Sonic replied. "You guys ready?", asked Espio. "Yeah!", exclaimed both Sonic and Silver

"Witness perfection, fools! HYAAAGH!", announced Infinite as he released a burst of energy and the area around him glitched and the heroes are knocked back. "Whoa!", Sonic, Espio, Silver, and some of the soldiers their exclaimed. Sonic jumped up into a ball and homing attacked Infinite, but it did no damage as Infinite batted him away, sending Sonic to the ground. "Augh!", yelled Sonic as he hit the ground. "Sonic!", Exclaimed Silver; "You'll pay for that!", he continued, as he formed a ball of telekinetic energy in each hand and threw them at Infinite. Infinite chuckled as he stopped both of them and redirected them back to Silver. "What!?", remarked Silver as he tried to step to the side, but wasn't fast enough and was hit by both, falling; "Aghh!" Espio: "No!" He ran toward Infinite, but Infinite lifted him up off the ground without physical contact and threw Espio into Sonic as Sonic was getting up "Hugh!", grunted Sonic; "Ack!", Espio said as they collided. Infinite: "This is too easy. Hahahahaha! Soon I'll have complete revenge and the world will be mine!" As Sonic and company tried to fight back; elsewhere, a certain Mobian was back where they belong, but it wasn't long before they would have to leave.

The red light on the watch blinked, {Buddy} knew what {he} needed to do. {He} had to leave home again to help the Resistance, and so {he} did. {Buddy} made {his} way back to the Resistance base, Tails and Knuckles were there to greet {him}. "We've got no time! You need to hurry towards Mystic Jungle and help Sonic!", explained Knuckles. {Buddy} nodded and headed off towards the Mystic Jungle as fast as {he} could; meanwhile, Shadow and his team got word of what was going on and Shadow was quickly sent to head for the fight near the Mystic Jungle.

As Shadow arrived, he was greeted by Sonic landing in front him, hitting the ground hard as Infinite hand flung him down. Shadow helped Sonic up; "Thanks, but if you don't mind, I need to go collect some certain items, could you take my place until then?", asked Sonic. "Yeah, I can. Just hurry.", replied Shadow, watching Espio get slammed into the pavement. Sonic sped off as Shadow leaped into action, coming at Infinite with a kick; "This is an unexpected surprise. I get to also return the favor to you, Shadow. You'll regret ever having met me, I'll make sure of that!", said Infinite, as he leaned back, avoiding the attack. He quickly kicked Shadow away with ease. "Now who is the weak one?", asked Infinite. Shadow then realized who he was facing after hearing that and seeing Infinite's face; "You!?", Shadow said, as he flipped and recovered, landing on the ground; meanwhile, Espio was struggling to get up, and Silver was throwing more telekinetic energy balks at Infinite, only to have them smacked away or easily dodged. "I remember now, continued Shadow, but it makes no difference, you're still weak.", said Shadow. "Dare mock me!?", Infinite said as he appeared next to Shadow. "What!?", Shadow exclaimed, surprised as he almost didn't realize Infinite had appeared there; but it was too late, as Infinite kicked Shadow, sending him flying into the side of a destroyed building; "UAGH!", Shadow said as he hit the building. Silver flew towards Infinite, but in seconds, he was no longer in his sights. "What the-?", Silver questioned, but couldn't finish after being punched then kicked away from behind. "Aghhhhh!", Silver remarked as he landed in a pile of burning rubble. He was able to cushion his fall with the use of telekinesis and quickly got up, and continued fighting Infinite as Shadow removed himself from the side of the building and jumped back in the fight; meanwhile, the soldiers weren't able to do much.

{Buddy} arrived at where Sonic and company was, but only saw Silver, Espio, Shadow, and some soldiers. Silver noticed {him}; "We could use some help over here, and Sonic went off to get something important, he'll be back; but until then, we have to hold off Infinite!", he explained to {Buddy}. Espio was unconscious and Shadow was on the ground, the soldiers were quaking in their gear, and Silver wasn't going to last much longer. {Buddy} used {his} grapple to hurl {himself} at Infinite by grappling onto a building off by the wayside, behind Infinite. Infinite grabbed at {Buddy}, but missed, as {Buddy} landed a punch, but it did no damage. {He} landed on top of what was left of the building, only to be met by Infinite and kicked down through the building. {Buddy} managed to get back on {his} feet, and the fight resumed; but only to be faced with more of a challenge, as Infinite was getting bored.

Infinite soon was accompanied by the Hard-Boiled Heavy, Heavy Knight, which the soldiers focused their attention on, along with Espio after regaining consciousness and was able to fight. Silver was no match at this point, as he was too weak, and Infinite managed to knock him out. Shadow continued for some time but suffered a kick to the head that knocked him out as well. The Resistance soldiers were either knocked out or dead by Heavy Knight, so now it was up to {Buddy}, but fear was creeping up on {him}. "I can see the fear in your eyes.", commented Infinite as he floated down to {Buddy}. "Are you changing your mind about this heroic effort you try so hard afford?", Infinite asked. "Augh!", yelled Infinite as a yellow ball collided with him. "Leave him alone!", said Super Sonic, as he bounced off of Infinite and landed next to {Buddy}. Hope and confidence returned to {Buddy}, and both Super Sonic and {he} would be the only ones left to fight for the Resistance; can they do it?


	3. Chapter 3: The End?

**Chapter 3**

 _The End?_

Meanwhile, at the Resistance base, Tails was trying to get a hold of Sonic or {Buddy}, but there was no response of any kind. Everyone was worried that something bad might have happened to them, so they all gathered, had a short talk, then left to search for Sonic and {Buddy}, leaving some soldiers behind to guard the base. What they didn't know, was that both Sonic and {Buddy} lost their communicators while fighting Infinite previously. As they made their way to both Sonic's and {Buddy}'s last known position, they had to fight a few of Eggman's left over Eggrobos that were left to hold some kind of ground that they might have reserved for Eggman to build on. They were easy to fight for the team though; but what would be ahead, later on, would be much different; but meanwhile, Sonic and {Buddy} had their own problems.

"Hahahahahahahahahaha", Infinite laughed. "You think some showy transformation is going to be enough to make the difference in our powers!?", Infinite continued. "All I know is your edge has dulled!", Super Sonic said with a light chuckle and a smirk as he rubbed his nose. "You ready to put this dull blade to rest in the back of the kitchen drawer, {Buddy}?", he asked as he put his fist up to be bumped. {Buddy} nodded and {his} met Super Sonic's as they fist-bumped. They both looked at Infinite, ready to fight. Infinite came at them speedily as Super Sonic boosted towards Infinite. Both clashed and began to exchange punches and kicks. Sonic landing a punch to Infinite's stomach and Infinite landing a punch to Super Sonic's face. "Agh!"; "Ugh!", they both shouted and grunted as punches or kicks landed, both fighters continuing to exchange blows. {Buddy} could only watch as Super Sonic and Infinite fought; though, {he} really wanted to help somehow.

During the fight {Buddy} noticed something strange. The Phantom Ruby was glowing more brightly as the fight lasted. Super Sonic also noticed but didn't think too much about it. Infinite landed a hard kick to Super Sonic's shoulder, knocking it out of place! "AAAGH!", yelled Super Sonic, then roundhouse kicked Infinite's neck, sending him spinning sideways. He recovered and appeared beside Super Sonic and pulled his fist back to punch as Sonic was forcefully putting his arm back in place. He managed to fix his arm then quickly pulled back his elbow into Infinite's face before Infinite could attack! "ARRGH!", Infinite angrily responded as he pushed Super Sonic away, but Super Sonic came back with a headbutt, coupled with a boost! Infinite was sent back into a wall but flipped and kicked at it, breaking it, the rest of the building collapsing. He charged a quick beam and fired it at Super Sonic, but the attack was avoided as Super Sonic boosted and turned at about the same time Infinite had released the beam. It seemed that both were evenly matched at this point, but that would soon change.

The Phantom Ruby glowed and gave off a fiery magenta aura with a dark base, and it started to shake as it floated around Infinite. Super Sonic didn't know for sure what was happening, but as he looked at Infinite, he noticed his power was increasing and his aura was growing. Infinite was charging up, so Super Sonic boosted at him, but before he could even get close, Infinite released a pulse of energy as the Phantom Ruby beckoned and time stood still. While still, the Phantom ripped away the Chaos Emeralds from Super Sonic, as time continued, and Sonic falling to the ground, losing his Super form; "Agh!", Sonic cried out. He looked up at Infinite after catching himself, seeing the Chaos Emeralds circled around both the Phantom Ruby and Infinite; while {Buddy} stood there in disbelief, too shocked to move because of what {he} was witnessing.

These interacting powers of the Chaos Emeralds and the Phantom Ruby, along with Infinite and his Phantom Ruby Prototype caused the area around him to distort wildly. Infinite began to glitch and the distorted area began reaching out, growing. Sonic wasn't sure what to do now, he felt tired; "I can't give up, it's not over yet!", Sonic said as he tried to stand. The world around all of them became distorted, with each of them appearing as if they were falling forward, except for Infinite, who appeared to be falling backward. {Buddy} was too shocked to move as {his} stomach turned from the strange change in reality {he} was seeing, and Sonic was barely standing; during the time of this anomaly, Tails and the others arrived, only seeing Infinite, Sonic, and {Buddy} get swallowed up by the distorted mass, before it seemed to enclose on itself and disappear!

"What!?", said Knuckles and the others. "W-where did they go!?", asked tails aloud. "Look! What's that!?", Knuckles asked everyone and pointed at the unfamiliar robotic figure with its sword drawn. "I don't know!", answered Tails; "I've never seen it before. Could Eggman have built it?" Knuckles got into fighting stance, "I don't know, but it looks like a robot, so it must be, but even if it isn't Egghead's, it doesn't look friendly.", he continued. "That's not all, look over there!", Amy said alarmed as she pointed to the two still figures lying nearby. "It's Shadow and Silver!", said Charmy. Heavy Knight charged at the group, as everyone got ready to fight. The robot slashed downwards as the group jumped out of the way into two halves, one half jumped to the right and the other half jumped left. "Whoa! This robot is quick!", said Espio as he took out a throwing star, and threw at Heavy Knight, but the star was sliced in half by Heavy Knight's sword! "Oh man! He is quick!", exclaimed Vector. Amy leaped over the robot, landing behind it as Tails pulled out his scanner and started scanning Heavy Knight (but put it away because he couldn't manage to have it out for too long without being attacked), while Knuckles was gliding around Heavy Knight. The Hard-Boiled Heavy slashed around at Knuckles, while Knuckles oscillated to avoid the sword. Amy jumped and swung her piko hammer, making a direct hit to Heavy Knight's head, but it only made a minor scratch. The robot spun around and grabbed her hammer and spun around speedily, causing Amy to lose her grip on the hammer and fall into Knuckles, causing both of them to roll away; then Heavy Knight threw the hammer at them! They got up, only to be hit by Amy's hammer, with Amy taking the majority of the force. She was injured, but she and Knuckles managed to get up and dusted themselves off as everyone jumped in, everyone trying to get a solid attack in; but the Heavy Knight was very skilled and quick! It ducked and jumped and jetted back and forth to dodge attacks, while also using its sword and armor to block attacks; the team wasn't fast enough to land any good blows!

A few yards away, Shadow started moving a little, but everyone was too occupied with the fight to notice. He stood up and held his head; "Uagh!", Shadow said, as his head hurt from the falls and blows. He looked over to see them fighting some kind of robot, so he came to his senses and hovered over to the mechanical villain and kicked! Heavy Knight flew into a building as the others cheered, saying "Shadow!" Shadow then tried to radio to Rouge, but the communicator was busted. "Shadow, what happened!?", asked Amy. "Infinite is on the loose and he needs to be stopped!", he replied. "We saw him, Sonic, and {Buddy}, but then they disappeared with Infinite to who knows where!", Tails explained. Heavy Knight was back on its feet as it hovered over to the group and swung its sword at Shadow. Shadow leaned back then jumped back, avoiding the attack. The fight continued, but still, Heavy Knight was so agile; and so, the stalemate continued.

Then out of nowhere, A missile hit Heavy Knight and he flew to the side and rolled on the hard ground, skidding to a stop, as Rouge glided in and uses both her feet to kick him further away! "Alright! Now it's a party!", Vector happily greeted them. "Is it good to see you guys here!", added Knuckles. "Shadow, I couldn't make contact with you. Why?", Rouge asked Shadow. "I was fighting Infinite and got knocked out, but the communicator was busted too.", Shadow answered. "Hmph. Well good thing, or else we wouldn't have come searching for you.", she mentioned. "I think we can take on that robot now!", Charmy commented. "Then let's go!", replied Espio as he took off towards Heavy Knight, with the others following behind. Heavy Knight got up again, scratched up and slightly dented, but not out. It charged at them once again, but then started hovering after a cyan aura wrapped around it! As the robot was lifted, Silver was revealed to be behind Heavy Knight! The others stopped as Silver focused and threw Heavy Knight away into a damaged building, the rest of it collapsing onto Heavy Knight! "Wow! Things really are looking up now!", Rouge commented as she landed next to Shadow and Omega. "Sensors indicate that the threat is not yet eliminated.", Omega informed them. "Then let's get to it!", asserted Espio; all while, the bits of walls and metal from the building that had just collapsed were pushed away, as an obviously angered robot arose from the debris.

The team ran over to Heavy Knight, but it slashed quickly at them and knocked back Charmy with a punch and Espio with a kick! "We need to work together!", said Silver. The others nodded in agreement and the fight continued, but now with more of a synchronized attack strategy. Silver held the bot still with his telekinesis, while Espio used mid-ranged weapons and Omega firing his weapons after getting a lock-on. Then Silver would throw Heavy Knight up, letting Charmy and Tails combo the robot, then Knuckles and Rouge combo with heavy punches and kicks, a tail sweep by Vector, and a whack upwards by Amy's hammer after she quickly retrieved it, and finally a homing attack from Shadow, giving the robot no chances to escape or react! Heavy Knight smashed into the ground near a building, heavily damaged as Omega got a lock-on. Heavy Knight slowly got up, sparking and shaking, as metal rattled and liquids leaked out. Omega fired several large missiles that exploded on contact, almost completely obliterating Heavy Knight! The fight was over for the group as they celebrated, but could only wait and hope for Sonic and {Buddy} to come through on their end.

Infinite was glowing brightly as pink hues were emanating from his body. His power continued to grow as he had completely transformed into Phantom Infinite. "I've got to fight!", asserted Sonic as he forcefully tried to move towards Infinite; however, it appeared he wasn't moving any closer or farther away from him. Infinite shot out pulsing and quivering electric orbs as they zigzagged towards Sonic, shocking him after making contact with any part of him. "AAAGHH!, Yelled Sonic as the electricity shot through his body! "Grrrrrrr!", Sonic continued, after the electrifying jolts. 'What can I do!? I need to figure out something, and I need to do it now!', thought Sonic as he was still in pain from the electrical attack; meanwhile, {Buddy} was terrified as fear had restricted his movement; was {he} about to witness the world's greatest hero fall!?

Though {Buddy} couldn't move, {he} felt a sudden bump from {his} backpack. The distraction cured {his} fear as {he} was curious to what this could be. {Buddy} pulled off {his} backpack and opened it, as a few Wisps flew out; White, Yellow, Cyan, Blue, Green, Pink, Purple, and Violet all headed to Sonic! {Buddy} had completely forgotten about the Wisps and was surprised but also kind of hopeful now that they were here. Sonic was quickly filled by the power of the Hyper-go-on energy from the Wisps, while Infinite began to diverge into hundreds of himself! All the Infinites began moving past each other horizontally and slowly got closer to Sonic; meanwhile, Sonic was glowing white!

Light engulfed a part of the area Sonic was at, which temporarily blinded {Buddy}! Sonic transformed into Hyper Sonic, radiating with a rainbow of colors and bright hues, while also his body flashing with white and rainbow colors! The Infinites had shielded their eyes and stopped moving as they saw Sonic transform, but they continued toward him afterward. {Buddy} didn't know for sure if Hyper Sonic could stance a chance against Phantom Infinite, but {he} definitely had hope, so {he} took out the Drill Wispon and charged up an attack. Letting go of the trigger, the Wispon managed to pull {Buddy} forward next to Sonic; now, they could fight Phantom Infinite together!

Hyper Sonic quickly flew at the Infinites as they glitched and beams started firing from all on them as {Buddy} moved out of the way and charged up {his} weapon, then drilled forward towards the Infinites. Hyper Sonic zipped all around, avoiding the beams, then homing attacked from Infinite to Infinite, but the Infinites blinked (not their eyes, but their whole body) and surrounded {Buddy} and Hyper Sonic! The ones around {Buddy} attacked all at once, and the ones around Hyper Sonic blocked his view from seeing {Buddy}, but he managed to shoot straight up, as all the Infinites missed him. Hyper Sonic looked over to see that {Buddy} had changed Wispons, and the Infinites around him were in cubes, which then shattered! "Yes!", Hyper Sonic shouted as he flew to {Buddy}. The rest of the Infinites appeared back in front of Hyper Sonic, as both Hyper Sonic and his partner used the power of the Wisps to continue fighting! As Sonic homing attacked and {Buddy} drilled, zapped, and burned the Infinites, breaking through the many Infinites together! They finally reached the Infinite in the back of all the others, in the middle, and as {Buddy} used the Cube Wispon to trap Infinite, Hyper Sonic homing attacked, breaking through and hitting Infinite with a lot of force, causing him to fly back, as he grunted. They weren't going to let up, as {Buddy} grappled and hit Infinite, followed by Sonic using a blast of energy to shoot Infinite! Infinite flew back and started falling endlessly down (forward) as he was trying to get to his senses. "You ready {Buddy}!? Let's do it!", Hyper Sonic said as he and {Buddy} charged up a double boost! They launched at Infinite at an insane speed, gaining on him extremely fast! They collided with Infinite, sending him falling faster than sound; then, both Sonic and his partner slowed to a stop and celebrated and fist-but something wasn't right.

In the time that {Buddy} had blinked, Hyper Sonic wasn't there to fist bump. {He} looked over to see Sonic's lifeless body in the grip of Infinite's hand by his neck. Sonic's Hyper-go-on energy was being absorbed by Infinite, and something very strange happened. The Chaos Emeralds, Hyper-go-on energy, Phantom Ruby, and the Phantom Ruby Prototype all reacted to each other and forced Infinite back as he dropped Sonic, as well as forcing the Phantom Ruby Prototype to be separated from Infinite's chest. Infinite was sent flying back, passing by {Buddy} as the energies swirled. The Chaos Emeralds aligned around the Phantom Ruby, the Phantom Ruby Prototype circling around both the Phantom Ruby and the Chaos Emeralds, and the Hyper-go-on energy being sucked into the Phantom Ruby itself. Together, the whole group shook and a dark, blood red pulse of energy resonated from the Phantom Ruby. A loud windy sound echoed endlessly as everything started to rumble and shake while the Ruby made a deep, loud hum. A negative array of energy pulsed out from the center of all of it and something like a black hole formed. Sonic was being dragged in along with anything else, and in a moment Sonic was sucked in, without giving {Buddy} a chance to save him ([Pause]). {Buddy} saw a pair of eyes from within the black hole staring out at {him}; there was a flash of light, and then there was a long period of silence.


	4. Chapter 4: A New Threat

**Chapter 4**

 _A New Threat_

{Buddy} opened {his} eyes and was dazed as {he} couldn't move anything but {his} eyes. {He} couldn't feel much except for a slight headache. {Buddy} heard footsteps and looked down, as {he} saw a nurse enter the room. She saw that {he} was awake and asked {him} if {he} was okay, but {he} couldn't move his lips. "Don't try to talk. You're paralyzed, but only temporarily as indicated by our tests and scans. You should be up and be running by the end of today or tomorrow morning; but for now, don't try to do anything but rest", the nurse explained to {Buddy} as Tails entered the room.

Tails walked over to see {Buddy} as the nurse was checking on other patients in the room. Tails sat on the edge of the bed and began saying, "Hey {Buddy}. I know you can't talk right now, but-"-He was cut off by Silver who entered the room and said, "Tails! Come check the computer! Something really weird is happening around Mobius!" Tails got off of the bed and followed Silver as both quickly made their way to the command center. {Buddy} couldn't do anything but wait; meanwhile, at the command center, the computer was showing the globe of Mobius on a grid and areas of Mobius were lit up.

"Looks like the computer has picked up some strange activity in Angel Island and the Mystic Ruins.", Tails explained to his Resistance teammates. "I can't believe Eggman isn't letting up. What could he possibly be doing now!?", questionably demanded Knuckles. "What are we going to do without Sonic!?", asked Amy as she was tearing up. "Don't worry, we will find him.", assured Rouge. "These readings aren't making sense. They're showing high magnetic disruptions, but there's no solid information about what's causing it!", Tails stated. "We need to check it out.", said Vector. "Yeah. The sooner we know what's going, the more likely we can figure out where Sonic is.", commented Espio. "Right!", agreed Silver. "I'll go!", Knuckles volunteered. "Count me in.", said Silver. "Me too.", said Espio. "Alright then, you three check it out; meanwhile, I'll decide who should go to the Mystic Ruins.", said Tails, as Knuckles, Espio, and Silver head out.

"My team will check out the Mystic Ruins.", said Shadow, to Tails. "Okay. You, Rouge, and Omega can go, while I, Amy, Vector, and Charmy stay.", replied Tails. "We'll let you know what's going on when we arrive", said Shadow. Team Dark left for the Mystic Ruins, as the rest stayed behind. "We still have plenty of work to do around here.", Tails said to the others. "Yeah. There's quite a bit of cleaning up we need to do.", commented Vector. They all got to work as Tails continued to investigate further into the matter on the computer; elsewhere on Mobius, similar readings of strange energies were being picked up.

"You might want to take a look at this, sir.", Orbot said to Eggman. Eggman put down down his wrench and walked over to his monitor, seeing a red light flashing on Angel Island and a yellow one on the Mystic Ruins. "Hmm." Is the Resistance working on something?", Eggman asked himself. "I don't like this. ", Eggman continued, then gathered two groups of Eggrobos and ordered one group to go investigate the Mystic Ruins, and the other to go investigate Angel Island. He planned to use them to also gather video footage and live video feed too so he can see for himself. The robots left as Eggman turned on the live video feed from both groups as the robots traveled to their destinations; while somewhere else on Mobius, a great loss in pride is leading to a new beginning.

The Jackal was laying on the dry dirt, the sun was beaming down on his face and on the many scratches and open wounds from the fight and fall. He thought he could do it, the power and the desire were so great, but he still lost. 'Have I really fallen so far that I cannot succeed in anything?', he thought. 'What name must I have to win? What must I do to succeed? I gave up everything, but it was not enough. What else can I give?', he continued. He closed his eyes and fell asleep in the heat; while in the shadows of Mobius, a new but ancient threat was emerging.

Eggman's first group of Eggrobos make it to Angel Island before any of the Resistance. From Eggman's monitor, the several screens from each robot of the group that allocated the top half of it, revealed a magnificent light beaming up from the center of Angel Island, and a strange dark and circular energy at the base that appeared to be swirling! "What is that!?", Eggman yells in both astonishment and curiosity. He presses a button on the keyboard to get the robots to scan and gather information, but very little was accumulated. "Agh! Get closer!", Eggman commanded them. The robots did as he ordered and moved closer, only for Eggman to shocked all the more. Before Eggman's eye, he saw on his first set of screens of half of his monitor unfamiliar beings coming from the beam that vertically ascended into the sky; though they resembled that of a Mobian, their presence to Mobius was certainly new!

They had chrome colored armor suits with glowing engravings that were magenta in color. Their sleek armor gleamed brightly as they reflected the Sun's rays, making the armor almost appear a light blue due to the color of the skies that their armor also mirrored. More and more expelled from the beam at the swirling dark base of energy, and they scoured the island. "What is this!? Who is responsible for this!? It can't be Tails unless he's made some new friends! Hmm. Get closer, but not too close!", Eggman questioned then ordered his Eggrobos. As they got even closer, Eggman watched as these beings were using weapons that the doctor has never seen before to destroy and build platforms around Angel Island. "What in the world are they doing!? This can't have any correlation with the Resistance. Tails would never build on Angel Island in this manner, let alone befriend such a race that is causing damage to Angel Island! So just where did these things come from?", Eggman estimated and questioned; Eggman then looked at the second half of his screen as his second group of Eggrobos were nearing the Mystic Ruins, to find even more intriguing events.

The second group of Eggrobos arrived at the Mystic Ruins, but they had to continue through or over the forest. Eggman ordered a few to search around in the forest, while the rest hover over the forest to spot anything of interest. After a few minutes, the ones that were hovering above the forest of the Mystic Ruins detected movement ahead as they were near the innermost part of the ruins, so Eggman had all of the group focus on the inner area of the forest. Eggman saw more of the strange race as the robots focused; Eggman took no time to demand that his Eggrobos needed to stay out of sight, so the ones hovering landed and the group hid behind trees and rocks and peeked from behind or around their hiding spots and continued to film. They slowly made their way to an opening, but they didn't go out into it; instead, they remained at the edge, hiding behind trees or rocks. Eggman was about to get more answers; but his chances of getting more information are narrowing, as Knuckles, Espio, and Silver have almost made it to Angel Island, noticing the strange column of light.

"We've arrived at Angel Island.", Silver informed Tails through the communicator. "Good. Don't cause too much trouble, we need to know what's going on before taking any action.", explained Tails. "Got it.", replied Silver. "What's happening to Angel Island!?", exclaimed Knuckles, getting panicked. "Not sure, but look over there!", Exclaimed Silver as he pointed to Eggman's Eggrobos; while also the trio acknowledged the other strange beings, but assumed them to be robots Eggman had created. "I knew it! Egg-brain is doing all of this!", Knuckles claimed insistently. "Hmph.", remarked Espio as he was being held by Knuckles by his arms, while he glided alongside Silver, who was hovering. "Should we smash up the robots?", asked Knuckles. "No. Not yet.", said Tails through Silver's communicator. "There's a strange light coming from the center of the island and there appears what might be some new robots that Eggman has built.", Silver informed Tails. "We need to do something, I can feel the Master Emerald is in danger! Whatever Eggman has created, needs to be stopped!", Knuckles demanded while worried.

The three heroes decided to keep their distance from the Eggrobos; "Let's keep away from those Eggrobos so we aren't spotted.", suggested Silver. "Yeah. If we get caught, we'll have to do deal with more than we can handle, because those other robots look pretty strong.", agreed Knuckles. "Yes. That's a good plan.", said Tails through Silver's communicator. Knuckles set down Espio as he and Silver landed at the edge of Angel Island behind a rock, looking at the Eggrobos. "Why are they just hovering there?", asked Silver as Knuckles, Espio, and Silver looked up at the hovering Eggrobos from a distance. "I bet they are searching for something"-Knuckles gasped; "The Master Emerald! I need to get to it!", Knuckles blurted as he started towards the center of the island. "Wait!", exclaimed Silver. "Look carefully at what the Eggrobos are looking at!", Silver continued. "Uh! Those don't look like robots!", Espio remarked, surprised. Knuckles stopped and realized that Silver was right. "Then what's going on here!? If it's not Eggman, then who?", Knuckles spouted. "Silver, describe these "robots" to me.", Tails said to Silver through the communicator. Silver did so, giving the available details. "I'm not sure what they are. What you're describing doesn't sound like something from Eggman.", Tails replied through the communicator. "I don't know either then, but they look like they are building something!", Silver explained to Tails and the group with him. "I don't care what they are doing! They're destroying my Island!", Knuckles responded loudly.

The Eggrobos heard Knuckles from above and turned their attention to the trio. "What!?", Eggman shouted! "I can't believe this! They're here too!", he continued then ordered his Eggrobos not to notice them and keep their distance. "I think they see us!", exclaimed Silver. "Quick, hide!", Espio exclaimed in a whisper. The Eggrobos turned away to look towards the center of the island again as all three ducked behind the rock. "Phew. I guess they didn't see us after all.", said Knuckles, relieved. "You need to be careful guys.", insisted Tails. "I think you're right Tails, whatever is going on here doesn't look like Eggman's doing.", said Silver to Tails and the team as they watched the beings with chrome armor build; in the Mystic Ruins, Team Dark had arrived.

As Shadow, Rouge, and E-123 Omega entered the forest, pushing through the dense and overgrown grasses and bushes, Tails responded through Shadow's and Rouge's communicators, "I see you three made it to the Mystic Ruins." "Yep.", replied Rouge. "Like the others, I'll tell you the same: We need to gather information, so try not to take any violent course of action unless it's absolutely necessary.", Tails informed them. "Understood.", replied Shadow. They were nowhere near the Eggrobos, but Omega was picking up a lot of activity. "My sensors and scans indicate that there are multiple entities present and an unknown energy reading coming from deeper within this forest.", Omega informed the team. "Ol' Eggman has been a lot busier than we anticipated.", commented Rouge. "About Eggman. The notion that he is responsible for all of this can be dismissed. It's not him, but I'm not sure what else it is, so I'm doing some research.", responded Tails. "Alright then, let's find out what's really going on. Come on.", said Shadow as he guided the team further into the Mystic Ruins. They reached an opening whereby sections of an old ruin wall was missing, which was covered in moss and all kinds of vegetation. Both Team Dark and the Eggrobos looked through the opening they were at and before Teams Dark's eyes and before Eggman's lower half of his monitor's screen was a strange figure.

A strange being stepped out from a corner of the ruins of the step pyramid. He had on a white cloak, parts of his black skin and magenta fur were visible through the open areas of his cloak and chrome armor, as his faded pink eyes glowed from the shadows of his hooded garment. In his right hand, he had a staff with a round head with a glowing magenta stone in it, and it had an attached segment that extended out from the rounded area and formed what looked like an ax head with another attached piece at the end. He was accompanied by several of the beings that Knuckles, Espio, and Silver had seen at Angel Island, but not close enough to detail. They were completely covered in a segmented chrome armor with glowing magenta engravings that symbolized something. The one in the cloak was ordering the completely armored beings to dig around the step pyramid and in other locations of the Mystic Ruins.

"Hmm. This is certainly not the work or doing of the Resistance.", commented Eggman. "Gather all the information you can, Eggrobos!", he ordered. "Threats detected!", Omega announced. "Just hold on Omega. This could be something that we don't need to rush in to.", said Shadow. "Looks like something we should regroup and plan about first.", added Rouge. "Keep gathering information.", Tails stated. They continued to watch, seeing that the armored beings had been digging a large hole in the ground. After a few more minutes, they stopped and the being that was ordering the armored ones entered the hole. "I think I might have some information for everyone.", Tails said to Knuckles, Espio, and Silver; Shadow, Rouge, and E-123 Omega. "Great!", remarked Knuckles. "Awesome.", said Rouge. "Return to base, everyone.", commanded Tails. "On our way.", replied Shadow. "You got it!", answered Knuckles; Eggman's Eggrobos didn't leave either Angel Island or the Mystic Ruins and continued to observe.

When both parties arrived back at the Resistance base, everyone was gathered together at the command center/deck. "What's the news, Tails?", asked Silver. "Did you find Sonic!?", asked Amy with concern. "Not yet, sadly.", said Espio. "We didn't see him either.", answered Rouge, shaking her head. "While looking through the archives and searching up for the symbols that Silver described, I found them to be similar to these.", said Tails as he pulled up an image of the Dark Brotherhood's Marauders. "The Nocturnes Clan!?", commented Knuckles. "Yes. The ones we fought before.", explained Tails. "We saw another one that looked somewhat similar to their leader.", claimed Shadow. "Interesting.", remarked Tails as he held his chin. "They were digging a hole in the Mystic Ruins and the one Shadow is talking about entered it before you told us to come back to base.", explained Rouge. "We need to figure out exactly what they are doing. What was described at Angel Island sounds like it may have some connection to the Mystic Ruins too.", Tails continued; as they continued discussing and figuring out a strategy to get more information, Eggman was also figuring out a few things.

"They must be using the Master Emerald for something.", Eggman stated as he was searching for more info on his computer. "Group two, spread out around the opening to gather more information and see if you can't get into that hole!", he ordered. They did as commanded, but the other beings were still standing around and waiting while some were going down into the hole. As time went by, all of them would eventually enter the hole, and then the Eggrobos would make their move to enter the hole; on Angel Island, Eggman's first group of Eggrobos were also able to get closer to the Master Emerald altar, as they could see that the beings were emerging from the Dark base that swirled outward from the bottom of the Master Emerald. Eggman continued to watch, pleased that his Eggrobos were indeed making progress. The ones that entered the hole scanned around and picked up a system of tunnels. They made their way onward into the tunnel they were in, but they wouldn't get far, as they picked up activity ahead and didn't continue, knowing that there were too many of the beings there. "They must be guarding the other tunnels.", Eggman reasoned. "Eggrobo group two, we have a sufficient amount of information to plan for another reconnaissance mission. Return to base, immediately! Group one, stay a little longer.", Eggman issued. Group 2 exited the hole and returned to base, while group 1 watched as the beings on Angel Island continued to build. "It looks like they might be building something to use on the Master Emerald.", said Eggman after he watched the screen for a while longer. He finally ordered group 1 to also return, and they would. With both groups at the base, Eggman began to organize and define the information gathered and started to formulate a new mission to gather more information. "This is certainly a new threat according to my calculations.", said Eggman. "I may need to provide the next mission with some infantry.", he continued as it was getting late.

Both the Resistance and Eggman were preparing for the new potential threat that now existed on Mobius. Time would tell what kind of sinister plot the strange new beings were planning and what their agenda would reveal. Deep underground, what they were doing was a mystery to everyone, but the intense energy that both the Resistance and Eggman traced, proves to be a serious anomaly in question that needs an answer. Neither side slept that night, as both continued to plan and strategize. Whatever the reason for these beings coming to Mobius was, it looked to be more threatening than promising; and the question of Sonic's presence still remains to be unanswered.


	5. Chapter 5: Hidden Below

**Chapter 5**

 _Hidden Below_

Early in the morning, feet were shuffling around throughout the Resistance base, only the soldiers rested that night. Everyone else was busy getting prepared for a possible battle against the new threat on Mobius. Tails worked overtime trying to get as much information as possible from the computer, but he wasn't getting much more than he already had. Charmy and Vector were standing around near Tails having a conversation about the information that Tails had found so far, while Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, Silver, and the rest were getting ready for another mission.

As the sun was barely over the hills near the base, everyone was gathering in the control center/deck of the base. "Listen up, everyone.", Knuckles said, silencing everyone else that was talking. "There's a new threat to face. We don't know much about who or what they are, but Tails is pretty sure that they are similar to the Nocturnes Clan that we faced before, and I agree." Members of the Resistance were looking around or nodding their heads in agreement. "It could get rough out there, so we need to be ready for anything. Tails has been working on some new weapons for us, but for now, we must do with what we have. Sonic isn't here, so we have to rely on each other! We can still do this! We have to continue fighting until every last bit of our efforts gets us the end!", Knuckles explained and encouraged everyone. Everyone that was there was either doing a fist pump or nodding their heads; everyone was getting pumped for what was to come, except the one Mobian that just entered the room.

{Buddy} walked in with determination and tears in {his} eyes as {he} we walked to Tails. "{Buddy}! You're back!", Tails said happily, as others were patting {him} on the back as {he} walked by, all glad to see the hero back on {his} feet. {He} stopped next to Tails. "I know what happened to Sonic.", {Buddy} said. Everyone got completely quiet and listened. "When Sonic and I were fighting Infinite, we were winning.", {Buddy} said, but then started crying as he continued. "We thought we won, but then he snatched Sonic away so quickly, I couldn't react. He strangled him t-to d-d-death-", {He} was sobbing. "I didn't act. I should have tried to do something, but I didn't. He took away the Wisp energy and something strange happened to the Phantom Ruby. There was a lot of noise and colors and a large black hole that formed. Then-Sonic was gone. I-I couldn't save him.", {Buddy} was crying into Tails' shoulder as Tails and others were crying; could Sonic truly be gone?

Meanwhile, at Eggman's base, he was working on a project that he never finished in time before the Resistance forced his hand to use the Death Egg Robot. The project was planned to be a large, two-story-high robot that can launch grenades, nets, and spike balls. It also had two rocket boosters and a feature that allows it to become a makeshift jet. Eggman was controlling the robotic arms in a factory somewhere else on Mobius, from his lab on his computer. "Almost there.", Eggman said as he continued working; within an hour, he completed the task and looked at his plans and details to ensure his work was done with quality.

As a part of Eggman's Empire, he had many secret factories around Mobius. Some of which housed many assembly lines that would create custom parts for his personal use; such as, for robots or aircraft. Every so often, Eggman would have to expand his factories to make room for new installations. He could "request" parts through a program from his computer and secretly have the requested parts shipped to him, or he could use wireless connection to control robotic arms that existed in each factory which could take the parts as needed and build his projects there in a large, flat room that was used specifically for building. He could also program everything to build it for him, but either way, Eggman could do a lot of work within a short amount of time.

"Now it's time to give my Armed Egg a test run!", Eggman said, excitedly. "But before I do-Orbot, Cubot!", he shouted to get them to come, which they did. "I need you two to run some diagnostics and check to make sure that everything meets the parameters in my blueprints and notes.", he ordered them. They complied and wirelessly linked up to the systems of the factory that the Armed Egg was at and began receiving data. They ran diagnostics and assessed what parts and pieces had what parameters, it took about an hour, but everything checked out to be sound. Eggman was getting prepped for the test run as he gathered some safety equipment, as Orbot and Cubot came to him. "Everything is in order. No leaks or cracks, the screws, and fittings appear to meet required parameters, and there are no external factors that are affecting the project in any way as of now.", Orbot reported. "Good. This should be fun then.", Eggman replied. He got to his Egg Mobile and got it started, then exited, and headed over to the factory where his new creation was; meanwhile, a reconnaissance mission was being executed for the Resistance.

Knuckles, Amy, Vector, Espio, Charmy, Shadow, Rouge, E-123 Omega, Silver, and {Buddy} neared the Mystic at around ten o'clock in the morning, with an army of Resistance Soldiers tagging behind them, in case they would be needed. There were at least a hundred of the unknown chrome-armored beings scattered throughout the Mystic Ruins. "How are we going to get in there with so many of those things?", asked Vector. "I'm not sure, but we need to figure out something.", Tails answered. "Maybe I can sneak in?", Espio suggested. "You can try, but you better be careful.", said Silver. "And while you're there, look for Sonic!", demanded Amy. "Sensors indicate intense energy below. Unidentified energy signature.", Omega said. "If you can get to that energy source, we may be able to figure out what's going on.", explained Tails. "Okay.", replied Espio as he used his camouflage and entered the Mystic Ruins.

The team could only wait as Espio went in to investigate. He sped through bushes and trees silently as he avoided any kind of contact with the strange beings, but doing this led him to travel Northwest-ish. As he was going through the jungle, he noticed a few strange objects sticking up out of the ground, but he didn't focus on those too much. He also spotted a hole as he continued, so he stopped before reaching it. It was guarded by a being similar to the others he'd seen before, but it had a long, electric spear. He slowly and silently made his way near it and got behind a tree. From there, he picked up a decent sized rock and threw it behind the hole, where it hit a tree then the ground, which had a small pile of leaves, that which rustled when the rock landed in and rolled through them. The armored being guarding the hole acknowledged the noise and went to check it out. Espio wasted no time, he quickly made his way into the hole while the being was distracted, and after he entered, he noticed it was a dark tunnel. He continued on and stopped after reaching over ten feet into the tunnel. "I've entered a tunnel." Espio reported to Tails and the others through a whisper. "Good. What you need to look for, I assume, is a very wide tunnel. It should be the 'main tunnel'. When you find it, you need to try and find a passage that leads further down, not up. That's where you should be able to find the source of the energy.", whispered Tails in reply. "Understood. But also, I saw some thin metal structures sticking out of the ground.", whispered Espio. "Those could be anything. Keep providing feedback as you make your way through the tunnels, I may be able to figure out what they are.", explained Tails. "Got it.", Espio whispered back, then continued through the tunnel, staying close to the wall to feel his way through. He made a left turn and saw a room ahead that had some kind of light; he slowly approached it and stopped near the end, to see something quite strange.

He peeked in and saw no one present. He retreated back into the tunnel for caution; "I found a dimly lit room that glowed a pink color. It has some devices or something in it along both sides of the room installed inside the walls.", he whispered to the team and then described them as best he could. "Those are definitely not where the source of energy is coming from, but they sound like generators or maybe just a way to distribute some form of energy. Also, those things you saw coming up out of the ground may have been antennas.", Tails stated. "You think they have something to do with what was happening on Angel Island!?", suggested Knuckles. "Ah! Perhaps! Good speculation, Knuckles.", said Tails. "Keep going, Espio.", Tails continued. "Understood.", replied Espio, and then entered the room and saw two tunnels at the far end on the right. 'Hmm. I think I'll take the one that is going left, more towards the center of the ruins.', Espio thought to himself, as he made his way to it. He entered it and stayed against the wall, continuing into the darkness. He could see some light far ahead and he quickly tried to reach it; but as he got near it, he heard some noise ahead.

He slowly got to the opening and quietly peeked in to see a few of the chrome-armored beings inside of a large tunnel that was lit with strange electronic lines running along the walls. He knew this was where he needed to be, just like Tails correctly assumed. He looked around before entering and saw that he could go right or left, he snuck around the beings and knew that he needed to go left. He continued through and reached very large opening with several tunnels. The cavern was well lit in pink light as he saw many different tunnels that all met there in that one cavern. He whispered to the team: "I'm where I need to be, but I'm in a large cavern and there are a lot of tunnels I can travel through here." Tails thought for a moment before speaking. "There's not a tunnel that leads straight down or that is steep?", Tails asked. "I'll check each.", Espio whispered back and then began checking each. "None.", he whispered after having checked each. "Why don't you dig straight down?", offered Rouge. "Good idea.", commented Tails. "I guess I could try that.", Espio whispered, and did so; but while a minute into the dig, he heard footsteps approaching.

'Uh oh.", Espio thought. The footsteps became louder as they got closer. Espio didn't want to compromise his presence and be forced to abandon the mission, he'd gotten so far! They kept getting louder as he heard the bottom of the feet meet the dug-out rough ground. Espio's heart was pounding as he was frozen in fear. 'Is this it!?', he thought to himself; 'What should I do, and why can't I make a decision!?' The footsteps were about a foot away now; but then the entire cavern shook, and Espio instantly reacted and jumped out of the hole he had dug so far, and as he looked back, he saw that what was approaching had turned around and headed back out of the cavern in concern.

"Too close.", Espio quietly said to himself. "What was that just now?", Espio asked. "Looks like Eggman decided to show up in a big robot.", replied Knuckles. "Does this mean we get to have fun?", remarked Charmy, in a childish way. "Get ready, everyone.", said Silver. "Wait!", exclaimed Tails. I don't think we should jump in. I mean, not unless Espio is in danger. Besides that, I think that Eggman will be a good distraction in the meantime.", explained Tails. "That's genius!", remarked Vector. "Aw man!", commented Charmy. "Hey Espio. Eggman is here, but focus on finding the source of energy, because Eggman just helped us out by being a great distraction.", Rouge informed Espio. "Good to hear.", replied Espio as he went back into the hole and continued digging quickly; meanwhile, Eggman thought he could easily dispose of this threat.

"How dare you all try and stand in my way of global domination!", Eggman shouted as he engaged in battle with an army of the still unknown beings. He fired spikes at them and Missiles, but they easily moved out of the way. They were coming out of the holes throughout the Mystic Ruins, then headed towards Eggman's Armed Egg and surrounded it. "Oh no, you don't!", Eggman said as he controlled the mech to bend at the knees and then lean forward, causing the top half to rotate forward and the arms slam onto the ground, knocking the beings around or causing them to fall. "HAHAHAHAHA! Witness the power of my Armed Egg!", Eggman boasted. The enemy retaliated and started to climb on the arms and up the legs, but Eggman had his mech curl into a ball and spin in place. Eggman was able to destroy a few of them, but more were pouring out of the holes. The Armed Egg uncurled and stomped around, trying to underfoot the attacking beings. His mech was surrounded and they started tearing through the legs of his robot as Eggman was shooting nets and spike balls at them, but they were easily avoiding both! "What!?", he exclaimed. They completely ripped open the legs and started shooting lasers, melting the internal structure of the legs of Eggman's new project. "No! I can't believe this!", the doctor replied in shock; deep below, Espio was getting closer to his goal, while the fight had taken place.

Espio dug and dug and then fell through into a dark cavern below. He couldn't see anything as he tried to look around. "I can't see anything!", he whispered with some force. "We see a lot!", Charmy piped up. "Shut it, Charmy!", Vector said as he lightly swatted at Charmy. "Initiate flashlight protocol.", said Omega, as everyone kind of smiled and a few lightly giggled. "-Right. I knew that.", Espio responded feeling a little dumb as he turned on the light located on his communicator. He looked around and didn't see much until he looked left, where he saw a shaft. "Found a shaft. I think I'm getting close.", he reported. "Okay, just hurry. I don't know how much longer Eggman can keep this up.", Tails said. Espio went into the shaft and ran through it, which ran at an angle, downward. He reached the end and saw a pink glow ahead, he continued forward to an opening where the source of the glowing was, but he turned off the light on his communicator, as he didn't need it now. As he approached the entrance to the glowing; above the surface, Eggman was changing tactics.

"Aghhh!", Eggman shouted as he kicked away the oncoming armored beings. "This is getting ridiculous!", Eggman said, baffled. He threw his arms up, annoyed, then pressed a button on the control panel of the cockpit, causing the mech transform into a jet. "I'll be back! You can count on that!", he shouted then flew away. He headed back to his base as he was slightly shaken by the surprise of their strength. "Just what are those things!?", Eggman said to himself. As he returned to his destroyed empire, Espio continued his mission deep below the Mystic Ruins.

"I think I've reached the source. I'm about to enter a room.", Espio reported. "Good. Tell me everything you see when you're in.", demanded Tails. "Will do.", whispered Espio, as he peeked into the glowing room. Everything illuminated a magenta color as he saw lots of metal cylinders around the room that had small square connections that ran along the metallic floor to a raised piece of the floor, which happened to be a platform. There was a group of the strange race around another figure that was seen before, which seemed to be their leader. He was giving hand motions and speaking in an unknown tongue. Espio quietly snuck back towards the shaft and reported what he saw to his team quietly. "Good work! I'll need a little time to think about this information to piece everything together.", Tails responded to Espio but little did they know, that time was not on their side.

As Eggman was out of sight, Charmy noticed something; "Hey, what's that?", he asked as he pointed to the sky, left of the Mystic Ruins. "Huh!?", remarked Shadow, surprised. "High levels of energy approaching!", acknowledged Omega. The team wondered at the spectacle that arced across the sky towards the ruins. "Espio, we are seeing some kind of strange and disorganized lights headed towards the Mystic Ruins. I don't know what's exactly going on, but I think you should get out of there!", spoke Tails. "Yeah! There's no telling what's about to happen!", Knuckles added. Espio agreed and started back; but as he about ascended up the shaft, he heard the beings talking in a strange manner.

His curiosity was too great to ignore, so he stood near the entrance of the room and listened in, while sometimes peeking in without exposing his presence. Espio saw the cylindrical objects glowing a green color. "[Start the Chaos Compressor.]", the leader ordered in an unknown language, to the ones before him. They did as commanded, one going over to an area of a wall and placed its hand on it, as others went to the cylindrical tanks that were glowing green and turned a wheel on them. The tanks began to drain and around the bottom of the raised platform in the middle of the room began to glow green. "[It is time to initiate the final phase of the plan. Soon, Mobius will be ours!]", said the leader as he approached the raised platform in the middle of the room. He raised his staff as the middle portion of the platform started to glow green, revealing a strange design that had some kind of insert in it. The Leader slammed his staff into the insert, a loud metallic sound echoed throughout the room, and the center of the top circular area of the staff glowed magenta. The glowing green color seen began to turn a gray color as a visible electric current could be seen moving around the staff. Moments later, a huge pulse of energy arrayed outward from the top of the staff in the center.

* * *

(Trivia:

1\. While in the darker areas of the tunnels, Espio rested his camouflage ability.)


	6. Chapter 6: Lost

**Chapter 6**

 _Lost_

Time seemed to stop, everything felt lifeless, frozen, and dim. All within a few brief seconds, Espio knew something was wrong, but he was so lost in the confusion, he literally couldn't remember his own name. 'What's going?', he thought. His senses began to return and he felt enclosed as if his body were being squeezed, he couldn't breathe and it was pitch dark. He felt stuck and in a tight space, he was experiencing claustrophobia as his breathing was rapid. All he knew is that he had to move. 'MOVE!', his mind demanded, so Espio wiggled and tried moving his hands, feet, and anything else. He kept pushing and finally was able to move a little. His body was heating up and he was sweating all over, but he kept going.

Espio became slightly cooler as he continued up, he knew he had to keep moving. His arms reached up and pulled back the dirt as he saw the light of day above! He pulled himself out of the ground and sprawled out on the ground as his body ached, his muscles cramped, and his head pounded, completely exhausted. He realized he had been underground, but he was no longer in the tunnel. 'What just happened?', he thought as he laid in the grass with his eyes closed. It dawned on him that he was no longer in the Mystic Ruins and that he had been trapped underground. 'There's no way.', he thought to himself, confused. He rested for a while, waiting for his strength to return, then he tried to contact the others, but his communicator was broken, it fell off of him as he tried to use it. After his senses fully returned and he had calmed down, he got up, then looked around. "Where is this?", Espio asked himself as he only saw flat grassland around him. He wandered around as he tried to guess his location, but he couldn't find a good answer. "This doesn't make sense. I need to find out where I am!", he said and then started looking around, expanding his travel radius; meanwhile, the others were in no better situation.

"Huh!?", exclaimed Amy as she opened her eyes. "Where are we!?", asked Knuckles, concerned. The group opened their eyes, finding themselves in an overgrown jungle. The entire jungle had dark colors; a black and purple ground with purple and green trees. "Are we still on Mobius?", asked Charmy, very confused. "What zone is this?", asked Vector. "I'm not getting any information and I can't seem to locate Espio's position. He's not responding either. I think whatever happened, messed up our communicators", responded Tails as he messed with the device he had with him, then his communicator. "What's going on!? This isn't right!", exclaimed Silver. "I don't like this.", remarked Amy. "What's with this tree?", asked Rouge as she looked at a tree near her which appeared to glitch. Omega scanned around getting all kinds of illogical readings; "Unidentifiable location. Invalid. Invalid. Mixed readings.", he said as he moved about seemingly confused. "We need to get out of here quickly!", demanded Knuckles. "Something about this place seems familiar.", commented Shadow. Knuckles began jogging ahead with the others (including the Resistance Soldiers) following behind, but as they walked, the grasses, the trees, the vines, and other things started to glitch and shift around inconsistently. "Whoa! This is weird!", shouted Charmy. "The Phantom Ruby!" Said Tails loudly. "That's what must be causing this! But how?", he continued as he ran next to Knuckles. "Eggman is really starting to get on my nerves this time.", said Knuckles. "Wasn't he just flying away though, before?", asked Rouge. "He was. So is this his doing or someone else's?", responded Silver. "If it's not Eggman, it must be those strange beings we saw.", Tails answered. They kept going, but it seemed as if they were never moving in the same direction with every step because of the glitching and shifting of the world around them. {Buddy} was silent, lost in thought the entire time as he followed the others; meanwhile, Eggman experiencing his own worrisome anomalies.

Eggman had been working on repairing his Armored Egg before he heard one of the familiar sounds of the Phantom Ruby. After which, he found himself in Seaside Hill Zone. "What!? This can't be!", he exclaimed as he rubbed his head in confusion. "Was I dreaming? Is the Phantom Ruby being used? If so, who could have possibly used it?", he asked himself. "The Resistance must have somehow got their hands on it! Or maybe it was those things that remind me of the Nocturnus Clan that I fought.", he said, trying to provide a logical explanation. Eggman took a good look around and noticed that this was Seaside Hill, but not as it was before. "This doesn't look like the Seaside Hill I know!", Eggman exclaimed as he noticed it was completely restored and there were a lot of things he'd never seen before, as well as the black and violet colors randomly blotted throughout the area around him. "Is this in the future?", he asked himself with wonder as he looked around. Then he noted the many trees and overgrown vegetation that he'd never seen before. "What kind of trees are those?", he asked himself as he held his chin while looking at the strange red colored trunk of the trees. "No! This must be the past!", he exclaimed. "No! Not the past either? What are these dark spots?", he asked himself while looking at the strange ground. He noticed some strange glitching and distortion around him. "If this isn't the future or the past, it must be some altered version of Seaside Hill. These strange effects must be from Null Space itself, which means that this is Seaside Hill and Null Space mixed together!", he explained. "This is not good!", he shouted angrily. "I need to find a way back quickly. I haven't even gotten to eat lunch yet!", he continued as he walked off towards the restored, but distorted version of the ruins of Seaside Hill Zone. While the doctor was figuring out a way to return to the present, Espio was still looking for answers as to where he was.

Espio had searched for some time, but he didn't find anything to help him figure out where he was. "Ugh. I'm never going to find out where I am like this. I need to find a high spot.", Espio said to himself. He looked around but there was nothing he could see close by that would be tall enough, so he searched some more. He arrived at an unfamiliar stream and looked around to see if he could spot anything that might give him a sign of civilization, but found nothing. He took a step into the stream, not realizing just how strong the current was, and he slipped on a rock and fell into the stream, being carried away.

"Aghhhh!", Espio screamed as he tried to keep his head above water. He fought against the current and tried to grab on to whatever he could as he passed by them, but to no avail, as he only tired himself out. The stream had carried him for some time, but he eventually managed to grab a hold of a branch that was reaching out over the water from a bank. As he pulled himself closer to the bank, the branch snapped, but he quickly tried to grab another part of it, which he managed to do in the time before the rapids swept him away again. "Phew. That's not what I intended.", Espio said to himself as he panted. He pulled himself all the way to the sandy bank and laid down. "This day seems to be getting worse for me.", he said as he closed his eyes to rest. For almost an hour, he slept in the sun and woke up feeling better.

He looked around and noticed a cliff on the other side of the stream. "Really...", Espio remarked in disappointment; "I'm having no luck today.", he continued as he wondered how he could reach the other side. 'Maybe there will be something up ahead that could help me cross', he thought as he got up and started walking along the bank, following next to the stream. He was able to find a log in the water, but it didn't fully reach the other end of the stream. 'Should I risk trying to walk across the log and then jump off it to the other side, or keep going and look for something else?', Espio asked himself in thought. He looked to the left and saw that there was nothing else immediately noticeable that would be helpful, so he decided to take the risk. He stepped onto the log and carefully walked on it towards the other side of the stream, as he neared the end of it, he saw that the jump was a bit more distant from the bank than he anticipated. "...guess I'll try", he said, unsure if he could do it. Espio leaped off from the log and kept his eyes on the edge of the stream as he started to lower from the air. He held out his arms and flipped forward, landing at the end. "Yes!", he said joyously. "Now to get to the top of this cliff", he said. He continued to follow the stream from that side, going the same way. After walking for some time, he found an incline that curved toward the right, so he went up it and eventually made it to the top; meanwhile, {Buddy} realized where he and the Resistance were.

"I hope Espio is okay.", said Vector as he continued forward. "Yeah.", added Charmy. {Buddy} tapped Tails on the shoulder, both stopped and then {Buddy} explained that he'd seen something like this place before with Sonic. "Null Space!? That place that Eggman sent you and Sonic to, huh.", he responded. {Buddy} further explained that they could escape by using a double boost. "I see.", said Tails as he caught up with the others, stopping them to explain what {Buddy} had said. "Alright, everyone. We're all going to boost together and get out of here!", said Knuckles. All of the Resistance lined up side-by-side and started into a run, they increased their speed together as they held each other's hands. Faster and faster they ran before breaking the sound barrier, and finally into a super boost! The world around them started to stretch into a warp in front of them as they sped through it; they were going faster than Sonic as they approached an opening that had formed in front of them.

Eggman was irritated as he found nothing useful in the ruins. "Agh!", he shouted with anger. He looked back to where he'd been and saw a distortion that he'd not seen before. "What's this?", he wondered and headed to it, before he could reach it, a hole opened up and the entire Resistance boosted through! Eggman jumped out of the way as soon as he saw them coming and they passed by, gradually slowing down. "How can this be!?", Eggman shouted in amazement as he got up and headed over to the Resistance.

"What do you know, it's Egghead!", said Knuckles with a cocky attitude. "This is either a bad omen or a rescue that I don't need.", replied Eggman with a similar attitude. "We have more important things to worry about.", Silver pointed out. "You're right, Silver.", replied Tails. "Yeah, let's go home.", said Charmy. "Go home!? Take a look around you!", Eggman said. Charmy looked around as well as the others and noticed that their situation hadn't changed. "More Null Space!", said Vector, concerned. "What do we do now?", asked one of the Resistance Soldiers. "As much as I hate to say this for yet another time, it looks like we're going to have to put our differences aside and work together.", replied Eggman. "It appears so.", said Tails. "Fine. But no tricks, Eggman.", agreed Knuckles. "You have my word.", Eggman said casually. "Hey. What happened to your arm, Eggman!?", asked Charmy, as he curiously looked at Eggman's metallic arm and hand; others also looked and noticed, some were more shocked than others. "Oh, this. It's nothing. A jackal decided to get his revenge is all. I'm still here and that's all that matters.", said the doctor, with a slight hesitancy. "Well, what have you found out, Eggman?", asked Tails. "This apparently is a mixture of Mobius and Null Space, with a bit of time travel mixed in as well; this particular zone being Seaside Hill, but restored.", replied Eggman. "Hm.", commented Shadow as he looked around. "Say, where's Sonic and the pink one?", asked Eggman. Everyone got silent for a bit. "We're not sure really...", replied Tails. "Yeah. And we can't get in touch with Espio.", added Vector. "Um. Well. Sorry I asked", said Eggman. The others were waiting as Tails, Knuckles, Silver, Vector, Rouge, and Eggman spoke about their current predicament, with Shadow having some useful information now and again as they tried to come up with a plan to get back to the Mobius they knew.


	7. Chapter 7: Past Phantoms

**Chapter 7**

 _Past Phantoms_

Espio looked back and towards his right and saw the stream below and where he had been. "I came a long way.", he commented as he continued up. He looked around and saw the top of something to his left. He stopped when he reached the very top, he saw more of that something as he continued looking left. It appeared to be part of something unnatural, he thought. He went towards it and saw something he'd never seen before.

"What's this?", Espio said in wonder. 'Wait a second, this looks like the same structure that I saw before when I entered the Mystic Ruins!', he remembered. "What's going on?", he said in confusion. As he looked around, he saw some Echidna; "Knuckles!?", he shouted but wasn't heard due to the wind that was blowing over the cliffs and the sound of drums. "Two Knuckles!?", he said to himself in complete astonishment as he witnessed a second Echidna that also appeared to look like Knuckles. "This is getting too weird.", Espio said as he watched the two Echidnas interact. He continued watching as they walked towards the steps of what appeared to be a shrine or a temple. There were even more Echidnas gathered around there that were playing on some drums. "More Knuckles!? Okay, I need to figure out what's going on right now!", Espio said, then looked for a way to get down into the area. He saw some trees that he thought he could use to get down with, so he got a running start; but before he jumped, he heard a loud yell coming from somewhere below to his right in the distance, followed by the sound of many feet stepping together in sync.

Espio skidded to a stop and looked towards his right as he saw the strange beings from before marching in. 'What!?', Espio thought as he watched completely unsure of the situation. The armored beings were led by the same one Espio had seen in that room beneath Mystic Ruins. 'What's going on around here?', Espio questioned himself in thought as he saw the beings stop and as he remembered the seeing the leader insert his staff into that platform and hearing that noise. 'Could that have been the Phantom Ruby?', Espio thought. The leader of the chrome-armored beings turned around and began speaking in the same unfamiliar tongue as before, then he turned and pointed towards the structure in the middle of the area that Espio saw the top of earlier; Espio knew things were getting serious, but he couldn't hear what was being said, so he backed up and got a running start.

Espio jumped up and grabbed a hold of a tree's branch and quickly made his way down to the tan, tiled brick. He stuck near a wall to his left and peaked around the corner. He still couldn't understand what the leader of the beings with chrome armor was saying, he activated his camouflage and got under some kind of pavilion. He was only several yards away and could hear the leader speaking in that unknown tongue as before; "[We, the Phantoms, will rule over this land! The Knuckles Clan shall fall this day and our victory will bring us prosperity and a new life that we will call ours. Now go! Trample over the Knuckles Clan And take what they have!]" 'I don't know what he's saying!', Espio thought as he watched. The army of chrome-armored beings [Phantom Troops] began to run past their leader [the Phantom Emperor] and headed for that structure that looked like the one from the Mystic Ruins but in better condition. As he watched them charge, Espio moved to the left to see ahead of them and noticed that a bunch of Echidnas gathered at the bottom of the steps. They set down their drums and charged towards the Phantom Troops; both, clashing.

Both sides fought with punches, staffs, and weapons of their own kind, but the Echidnas were no match for the Phantom Troops. The attacks from the Echidnas did no damage to them, in fact, their attacks didn't even make them flinch. The Echidnas were losing, but there was nothing Espio could do, nor did he know what to do. He could only watch as the red Echidnas were beaten and slaughtered by the Phantoms. The blood of the Echidnas pooled about the ancient grounds as they were killed; while at the top of the stairs, stood a girl Echidna, watching.

She looked similar to Knuckles, but her fur was orange and she was clothed in a dress and garments. She appeared to be praying as some Chao were gathered around her. 'This must be the Knuckles Clan!', as Espio realized the girl as being Tikal. At the bottom of the stairs, another Echidna stood, but he had a darker fur color and had a spear. He watched as his kind was murdered, their blood pooled and it reached his feet. He fell to his knees and dipped his hands in the blood, he brought his hands to his face and wept before he smeared the blood on his face. 'He must be chief Pachacamac, leader of Knuckles Clan.', Espio thought. After a moment, he got up and charged at the Phantoms, but they stood in wait. He tried to use his spear to attack, but one of the Phantom Troops grabbed the tip of his spear and crushed it in their hand. The dark red Echidna fell to his knees in horror and two of the Phantom Troops grabbed him and dragged him to the Phantom Emperor; meanwhile, Tikal ran down the steps quickly.

She ran by the Phantoms as fast as she could, with the other Phantom Troops turning their attention to her, but the Phantom Emperor lifted his hand as to suggest (a) "no, let her be", so they ignored her. The Phantom Emperor then took his staff and held it up, the strange ruby-colored gem in the staff glowed and made a noise as the staff transformed into a hooked spear. The Phantom Emperor held out his weapon at an angle and turned to the side quickly as his arm went upward at a diagonal; blood began to trickle down onto the staff as it collected below on the tiled brick, staining it crimson.

The head of Chief Pachacamac was speared at the top of the staff, his headless body was released and fell to the ground, as blood was pooling in front of it and around it. The Phantom Emperor then turned his attention to the direction that Tikal had run and floated that way, with his army following behind. Espio also followed, but he kept his distance. They would all enter a narrow entrance and reach a closed-off area, which was blocked by a boulder; behind it would be a very mystical sight.

The Phantom Emperor put his hand on the boulder, and in seconds, without applying any force, the boulder began to crack as light blue hues of light escaped the cracks. The boulder turned into dust that collected on the ground. A pathway was revealed, leading to some kind of altar. The Phantoms made their way to it, Espio tagging along behind. Once he made it passed the narrow passage, he went right and then around the Phantoms to get to the altar, where he saw Tikal, the seven Chaos Emeralds, and the Master Emerald. 'I need to do something!', Espio thought. Tikal was saying something near the Master Emerald. "The servers are the 7 Chaos. Chaos is power... Power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.", she chanted. "Hmm.", Espio quietly said as he wondered. He watched as the Master Emerald slightly glowed. All the Chao around the altar were heading to Tikal as they shook with fear; The Phantoms were approaching, but the waters around the Altar started to stir.

The Phantoms stopped at the Altar of the Emeralds and held the staff up, as Tikal turned around and saw her father's head on the end of the staff. "Noooooooo!", she screamed as she fell to her knees and cried. The many Chao were huddled behind her as she cried, they all had worried faces. The Phantom Emperor lowered his staff and pulled the head off and tossed towards the Altar as it rolled to the bottom of the steps, leaving a bloody trail behind it. It stopped rolling when it reached the bottom step, but Tikal could not look, for she was too horrified. Within a few seconds, the entire area shook and there in front of the altar appeared a creature of water.

'That's Chaos!', Espio remembered. Chaos lowered itself into a puddle and moved towards the Phantoms and then he reformed, but the Phantom Emperor's staff released a pulse of energy that caused a fire to rise up in front of him. Chaos backed up but then stretched out its arms around the wall of fire and grabbed the emperor, but his cloak reacted to the threat and electricity surged around the Phantom Emperor and shocked Chaos. He was temporarily paralyzed, long enough for the dark emperor to telekinetically push him away, where Chaos flew back and splashed against the side of the altar. It reformed into a puddle and met the emperor again. Chaos spun around like a drill and flung itself at the powerful being, but missed as Chaos landed and looked around, seeing that the Phantom Emperor had somehow gotten behind him. Chaos formed into a single puddle again and slipped by the emperor, heading towards the Altar of the Emeralds. Chaos reformed and then stretched out its arms to retrieve two Chaos Emeralds. Chaos absorbed them as one moved to its left hand and the moved to its right hand, causing Chaos to transform into Chaos 2! Chaos 2 made its way to the Phantom Emperor as everyone else watched, except Tikal, because she was crying; all the while, Espio knew that if he tried to help, he would get destroyed, so he just watched and hoped that Chaos would win.

The powerful emperor hovered towards Chaos 2 with one hand out as he leaned slightly forward. Chaos 2 threw both of its arms at the emperor and finally got a hit in. The emperor hovered back but quickly recovered. Chaos 2 decided to continue attacking, so it swung its massive arms at him but the emperor was quite agile, as he jumped and flipped over both, without slowing down, then hovered to Chaos 2. His staff transformed into a golden sword which he held out as he gained speed and sliced through the bottom of Chaos 2, but Chaos 2 reformed soon after. Chaos turned around and turned into a ball of chaotic water and bounced around the emperor as the Phantom Emperor waited with his blade readied. Chaos 2 bounced up high and was above the Phantom leader, but as it came down, the emperor hovered back and sliced through Chaos 2 again! Chaos 2 reformed again; it realized that if it wanted to defeat this threat, it would need more than just two Chaos Emerald.

Chaos 2 formed back into a puddle and moved to the altar and reformed, grabbing five more Emeralds and then absorbed them. They arranged into a hexagon shape, with one being in the middle, inside of Chaos 2 and it started to transform. Tikal realized what was happening and quickly gathered the Chao and ran to her left, to get out of the way. As Chaos was transforming, it destroyed the top of the altar as it grew, then it moved to the left and flung itself off the cliff, into the water far below. The Phantom Emperor watched as he witnessed an enormous beast of legend emerge from the depths of the stream below to his left.

Perfect Chaos appeared, completely enraged at the Phantoms. It lashed out a tentacle at the Phantom Troops, as it swept them away to the side. Espio moved on top some stones nearby to not get hit, then he watched. The Phantom Emperor floated with no expression before moving to the edge of the cliff. He held up his sword and the ruby glowed again, then transformed the sword into a Wispon-like weapon. He threw his hand down to his side as the weapon released an electrical whip. Perfect Chaos roared and a beam charged in its mouth. Before it could look at the Phantom Emperor, the Phantom leader threw his right hand up, the electrical whip uncoiled and extended as it sliced through Perfect Chaos without any trouble. Magenta hues rose from Perfect Chaos as the beam that was charging in its mouth faded away and ceased. The beast roared as it appeared to be melting after the electrical whip had sliced through its brain! Perfect Chaos screeched and shook violently, and in moments Perfect Chaos exploded as water and blood dispersed in all directions. The Chaos Emeralds dropped into the stream and were carried away by the current.

Espio and Tikal watched in fear, as Perfect Chaos was defeated by a single attack from the Phantom Emperor. She was so stricken with fear, she could not move. The Phantom Emperor turned to her and his weapon transformed back into a staff. He hovered toward her as she crouched in fear, the young Chaos cowering behind her. "Please, stop! We have done nothing to deserve this!", Tikal shouted in desperation, but the Phantom leader had no response. He held his staff out to his side and swung it forward at her, it struck the side of Tikal's head and knocked her out. All of the little Chao ran in fear, trying to escape, but with the swipe of his staff, the Emperor froze them in place, along with Tikal. The Phantom Emperor then levitated those he froze and sent them off the cliff. The frozen Chao and frozen Tikal spun as they fell and then splashed into the stream, floating away.

Espio was powerless alone and could only watch as he stayed camouflage. 'What am I going to do?', he thought as he sat on the boulder near a wall. He felt so ashamed and weak as he watched as the Phantom Troops had gotten back up and followed the leader back to the other area with the temple, as Espio quietly followed behind. The Phantom Emperor took to the stairs and ascended them before turning around and looking out at the land that he now ruled. "[The Knuckles tribe has fallen! We are victorious!]", he spoke out to his fellow Phantoms. They all cheered in an organized fashion and then the leader started giving out orders to build and modify certain aspects of the area. '[Soon all will be fulfilled.]', the Phantom Emperor thought to himself.


	8. Chapter 8: Return

**Chapter 8**

 _Return_

Espio thought of what options he had and remembered the chant that Tikal had said earlier. He quickly went back to the Altar of the Emeralds, released his camouflage ability, and started saying the chant. "The servers are the 7 Chaos. Chaos is power... Power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.", Espio chanted, but nothing happened. He was disappointed but he kept trying, saying the chant over and over again, hoping something would happen. After some time, he was giving up all hope; until, he noticed the something odd from out of the corner of his eye.

The area to the right of the Altar of the Emeralds started to distort and spin. 'What's that!?', thought Espio as he watched. 'Maybe the chant worked after all.', he thought. The area started to spin faster and faster as it expanded. It had a black center that transitioned to magenta at and near the edges. Espio backed up a little, as he was unsure what was about to happen. The black area opened up as white light escaped it; something was about to step through, but what or who?

A black silhouette stepped through, slowly as the light from the rip in the fabric of the air revealed some of the features of the figure. Its blue fur, red tips on its shoes, and white gloves were seen. It was followed by another silhouette that stepped through, which had high heels and a noticeable tail, as well as white puffy cuffs. The way in which both had come through started closing, and as it did, the shadow at which it had casted, vanished. That, along with the sun, revealed the identity of these two silhouettes. Espio was in disbelief as he saw that these two were Sonic and Blaze; but where had they been, and how did they come here?

"Been a while, Espio.", said, Sonic as he gave a thumbs up. Blaze looked over with a serious demeanor, then said, "Something is affecting my dimension. Strange creatures are pouring out into it, and if Sonic hadn't shown up, I wouldn't have been able to stop them." Espio regained his composure after he'd been in shock from their presence. "Yeah. I knew Mobius would be in trouble, so I asked Blaze for a ride back home once I helped her out.", Sonic added. "Sonic, Blaze, there's a lot of things happening here that isn't good. I lost contact with the rest of the Resistance after I was doing a reconnaissance mission for them. Something I can't explain happened and ended up ways away from where we are now. I stumbled upon that place we were before and could only watch as the Knuckles Clan were defeated by an army of beings led by a strange figure in a robe. I needed to do something, but I couldn't because I would have been killed for sure. We have to do something." Sonic walked over to the Altar of the Emeralds and looked around; "where are the Chaos Emeralds?", he asked. "Chaos had them, but he was defeated and I'm not sure where they are now.", Espio replied. "That's too bad.", Sonic said as he looked at the partial dome that was once whole, which covered the altar. Blaze was also looking at the Altar of the Emeralds and walked around it. "There were some Chao here that were frozen along with Tikal. The leader of those monsters levitated them and sent them off the side and into the stream below.", Espio said with a bit of anger. "We should go and rescue them first. I'm sure Tikal will know what's going on!", said, Sonic. "Right. Let's go.", said, Blaze, as both Sonic and Blaze headed towards the narrow path that led to the Knuckles Clan's shrine, with Espio following them.

They took a right before reaching the passage, which led them down the edge of the cliff. "Be careful here.", commented Espio as he walked near the wall on his left. "I am.", replied Sonic as he was trying to move quickly. Blaze stepped forward and the heel of her high heel met a small rock; she slipped, but quickly reacted and held out her hand as she slid down off the cliff! She managed to grab onto the edge of the cliff and Sonic grabbed her hand. Espio then grabbed Sonic's arms so he didn't fall too. "My hand. It's slipping!", yelled Blaze. She looked down to her side and saw that it was a very long way down to the ground and the stream. She looked back up and tried to put her heel on the side of the cliff, but the heel couldn't dig into it. Sonic pulled up and she slowly moved towards him, but her hand was slipping. He grabbed Blaze's hand with his other hand while Espio was holding onto ground and Sonic's shoulder. "Come on, hurry!", said Espio as Sonic pulled Blaze all the way up.

They each panted as Sonic was sitting, Espio was leaning against a wall of orange dirt, and Blaze was laying in front of Sonic. "That was a scare!", said, Sonic as he looked at Blaze. "Yeah-and we need to do something about those heels.", claimed Espio. "I think I could just carry you to the bottom.", offered Sonic as he stood up and helped Blaze up, but she pushed him away. "No. I'll just be more careful.", she said. "Alright. Well, let's go." Said Espio as they continued their descent to the stream. They each were more cautious and made their way down more carefully, avoiding rocks and areas that were too low or too high.

They made it to the bottom where they took a right towards the stream. "This way.", said Espio as he ran alongside the stream, in the direction that it flowed. The others followed as they looked at the stream for any Chao or Tikal. "Look there!", exclaimed Blaze as she pointed to something bumping up against some rocks that were holding them from continuing towards the edge of a waterfall ahead! Everyone rushed over and pulled up the several frozen bodies from out of the stream. "I'll handle this.", said, Blaze, as she summoned fire to her hands and held them over the frozen bodies, melting the ice. Espio watched Blaze melting the ice around the Chao then Tikal, being relieved that nothing else happened to them. Sonic walked over as the Chao were completely thawed but shaking. He picked up two of them, their chilling temperature made Sonic shutter. "Blaze, they may need some more warming.", Sonic said. "Okay. I could make a fire right here, but get me some rocks from the river to make a circle so the fire doesn't spread.", Blaze said. "I'll do that.", said Espio as Blaze finished melting the ice around Tikal, whom then sat up and grabbed her shoulders while shivering violently.

"T-Th-Th-The Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Chao!", Tikal said as she shook. "They're fine.", said, Blaze, as Espio finished making a circle with some wet rocks he collected from out of the stream. Blaze lit the ground on fire inside of the circle of rocks, the grass was singed and caught fire. The Chao were held by each of them except Tikal and they all stayed around the fire, warming up; the sun also helped warm them. Tikal didn't quite know what was going on because of how cold she was, but after warming up, she understood that the Chao were okay. She noticed Sonic and Blaze were there and that she was not at the Altar of the Emeralds anymore.

"Where are we?", asked Tikal as she looked around, a bit confused. "Near a waterfall. The place you were before is that way.", Sonic answered as he pointed in the direction opposite of the waterfall. "I see. Thank you all for rescuing us.", she said. "No problem. But what's going on with your clan?", asked, Sonic. "My clan has been attacked by a race of powerful beings! They killed my father and my clan members, as well as the guardian of the Emeralds, Chaos. It all happened so quickly. The Chao and I were the only ones left.", she answered shakily while tearing up. "That's terrible. Those heartless monsters!", said, Sonic. "Yeah. At least you didn't see the massacre.", responded Espio. "There were creatures attacking my people too. They couldn't defend them without my help and Sonic's.", said, Blaze. "We must do something before they cause more destruction!", pleaded Tikal as she stood up with her hands folded. "As soon as everyone is warmed up, we will head back and figure out something.", said, Sonic. "The Chaos Emeralds! They should be in the water!", exclaimed Tikal. "Hm.", said Espio, alert. "After Chaos was defeated, the Chaos Emeralds dropped into the stream, I assume.", she continued. Espio went over to the stream and stuck his hands in the water, between the rocks that had stopped Tikal and the Chao when they were frozen. "Chaos Emeralds!", exclaimed Espio as he picked up a red and magenta Chaos Emerald out of the water. Sonic came to where Espio was and started to help look for more. He found two as well, and both Sonic and Espio set them down next to each other; red, magenta, yellow, and green. They pulled out two more together, cyan and blue, with one still missing. "Uh-oh. Looks like we need one more.", said, Sonic as he got up then walked over near the edge of the cliff and whistled, then said, "That's a long way down. Good things those rocks stopped most of them from going down there." They all gathered and waited around the fire to warm; after which, they picked up the Chao and headed back.

They traveled alongside the river, then back up the side of the cliff to the top where they were before. "I need to get to the Altar of the Emeralds. Maybe I there's something I can do.", Tikal said as she thought. Espio and the others nodded as they set down the Chao and as Tikal made her way over to the Master Emerald upon the altar. The Chao and others followed and stopped near the steps of the altar as they watched Tikal. The six Chaos Emeralds that they had gathered started to glow and float. "The servers are the 7 Chaos. Chaos is power... Power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.", she chanted. The Master Emerald started to gain a light but faint green glow as the Chaos Emeralds floated to the altar, back onto their pedestals. "Please, we need your help!", pleaded Tikal to the Master Emerald. The Master Emerald pulsed with a glow and the Chaos Emeralds did the same thing in response to the Master Emerald. "I beg of you! There is a great threat that has destroyed my clan. If not stopped, they will spread all over this world and cause great calamity and war! Please help us!", Tikal continued as her hands were folded and her eyes closed in prayer. The Master Emerald started to glow brightly as well as the six Chaos Emeralds; the Chaos Emeralds lifted and started to hover directly above the Master Emerald and dance around it in a circle, but there was a gap, where the seventh Chaos Emerald was meant to be.

"Looks like something is trying to happen, but you need that last emerald. Leave that to me!", said, Sonic. "I'll come with you.", said, Blaze said, Blaze. "No. You and Espio protect this place and keep Tikal and the Chao safe. I'll find that last Chaos Emerald, I promise.", Sonic replied as he set off back down the cliff like before. Without anyone else to worry about, he quickly made his way down the cliff at high speed. He made a right turn and headed to the waterfall from before, stopping at it. He looked around and thought for a second. He got an idea and he backed up a lot; then, he ran and headed right, toward a wall, he went up it then turned left away from the cliff, and then took a left again to head down. He reached the bottom where he looked up at the waterfall; the water falling and crashing down in front him. "Hmm. I guess I should check in the water.", said, Sonic as headed over to the large mouth of water. He searched and searched in the somewhat deep water, and after some time, he finally found it. "Find you!", said, Sonic as he held up the white chaos emerald.

"He got out of the water and shook himself and spun around to dry himself off. "Time to head back!", he said as he ran up the wall from which he came down from, then took a right and jumped back onto the cliff. He continued back to the cliff that led back to the Altar of the Emeralds and went up it. He walked over to the Altar of the Emeralds and stood near the steps, where the white Chaos Emerald glowed in his hand. He released it and it floated up and went to join the other six Chaos Emeralds floating in a circle. All seven were glowing brightly along with the Master Emerald. "Please! Help us!", Tikal said in desperation. The Chaos Emeralds spun faster and gained more speed. Their glowing appeared to trail as they mixed; and within a few seconds, they shot out a beam of colorful light. The Master Emerald also did this and both of the beams met at the bottom step of the altar; meanwhile, the others backed up and watched.

A bright circulation appeared as light gleamed and sparkled, while everyone watched curiously. As they gazed upon the spectacle, they witnessed shadows within the swirling mass of light. "What's that?", asked Blaze. "I don't know.", replied Sonic. More shadows appeared, and then a dark magenta aura started to form within the center of the circulating light. The color fumed up and blossomed out, mixing with the circulating bright light. The interaction caused the circular area to distort and form a spherical shape. The magenta hues were trapped inside of the ball of light, and m together, they spun quickly and got faster ever so quickly; the magenta colors expanded and filled the volume of whiteness as it pushed the sphere to expand and finally explode! It sounded like glass shattering as the sphere busted open, engulfing a small bit of the area in bright purple light with electrical static popping in the air; which was followed by a moment of silence.


	9. Chapter 9: Together We Fight!

**Chapter 9**

 _Together We Fight!_

The whiteness started to thin as shadowy figures roamed around. "What's going on!? I can't see!", exclaimed Charmy as he flew onto Vector's face. "Guagh!", shouted Vector and fell back into Rouge. "Rouge backed up and let Vector fall. "Vector, Charmy! Is that you!?", asked, Espio aloud. Charmy rolled off of Vector and flew up as Vector got back up. Everyone could see each other as the bright light had dissipated; meanwhile, the Emeralds returned to their pedestals at the Altar. "Wow! Everyone's here!", said Sonic happily. "As much as I'd love to continue this heartwarming reunion, trouble is headed our way! Look quickly!", Tikal said and pointed towards the narrow passage.

Some Phantoms were approaching them as Sonic, Espio, and Blaze turned around and backed up to join the others. "Now we're talking!", said Sonic, eager for action. Everyone got into an offensive stance and waited as the Phantoms marched over. "Let's gooooo!", said Knuckles as he ran out ahead of everyone, towards the Phantoms. The Chao ran behind the Altar of the Emeralds in fear, as the rest of the Resistance, Blaze, and Eggman followed behind, both sides clashed and a fight broke out.

Knuckles was the first to strike a hit, as he punched one of the Phantoms. The Phantom didn't flinch, nor did the attack do any damage. "Rats! That didn't do anything!", said Knuckles as he saw that he didn't even make a scratch on the Phantom Trooper. The Phantom Trooper returned Knuckle's attack with a punch to the face; while Espio was doing a flying side kick to another Trooper's head. Knuckles was sent back hard as he flew into Silver, Rouge, and Omega. They all fell down with Knuckles on top of them; meanwhile, Espio landed and grabbed his foot in pain. "Ahhh! That didn't work.", said Espio in pain. Omega pushed Knuckles off and got up as the Phantom Trooper that Espio kicked, kicked Espio straight up! "Aghhh!", yelled Espio as he started to fall back down. One Phantom Trooper had grabbed Tails by the Tail after Tails tried to attack. "Waaaah!", yelled Tails as he was thrown back into Vector, who caught Tails then set him down as Espio hit the ground. Vector continued towards the Phantoms, spun around, and slapped one of the members of the Phantom Troopers with his strong tail, which caused the trooper to fall over. Amy ran by {Buddy} as {he} was heading towards Tails, she had her piko hammer at her side and swung it towards the Phantoms, but it was easily punched away and it sent her with her hammer sliding to the side. {Buddy} leaped over Tails and had equipped the Void Wispon, {he} ran at the group of Phantoms but was knocked away by a powerful blast of wind that was shot out of a weapon that one of the Phantom Troopers had. Blaze was sending balls of fire at the Phantoms, which exploded on contact with anything, causing several to fall. The others got up as Charmy got clobbered with a punch that sent him past the Altar of the Emeralds like a bullet. Shadow managed to sweep one of the Troopers off their feet, then continued with a homing attack. The Resistance Soldiers were providing support, aiming and using their Wispons to attack the Phantom Troops, the attacks were somewhat effective, but the others kept getting in the way, so they decided to split into two groups on either side of the Troopers from an angle and continue their attack there.

"These guys are tough! Just the way I like it!", said Sonic as he got up. Eggman was aiming his mechanical hand at the Phantoms and shot out a bolt of energy, which knocked over one of them! "Hah! I knew this would come in handy!", Eggman said jovially. "This is no time for jokes, Eggman!" Said Knuckles as Omega had locked on to three Phantom Troopers and fired off three missiles. The missiles corkscrewed towards the Phantom Troopers, but a burst of purple energy shot out of a weapon that another Phantom Trooper had. The energy engulfed the Missiles and caused them to explode before they could reach the targets! {Buddy} was getting up as the Resistance Soldiers were making progress by continuously firing their weapons, bombarding the Phantoms with fire, electricity, wind, and blasts of energy. Tikal was using her powers to heal those injured through the use of Chaos Energy, but also to aid in the attacks against the Phantoms by using lightning bolts. Charmy Bee floated back in a dazed manner after crashing into a wall from the attack. Everyone was back up and fighting, except for one Phantom Trooper that had reached the narrow passage behind them and entered the shrine.

The Phantom Trooper ascended the stairs and met the Phantom Emperor at the top step. "[There is a major battle happening near the Altar of the Emeralds. What would you have us do?]", the trooper asked. "[Continue fighting. I will join the ranks in battle soon.]", the Emperor replied as the trooper descended the stairs and headed back to the battle. The Phantom Emperor turned and looked at the work that his loyal subjects were doing. Monuments and buildings were being torn down, primitive methods of tools were destroyed to be replaced by sophisticated technology, and the walls surrounding the entire tribe were being drilled for modifications that would suit the Phantom Emperor's new empire. He held up the Phantom Link and it transformed into a golden star that encased the ruby, hovered down the steps, and towards the narrow passage that led to the sanctuary that held the emeralds.

The Phantom Emperor floated in to see a few of his subjects being homing attacked by hedgehogs, one being attacked by a hammer and missiles, two others being swept by Tails the fox, one that was being ganged up on by Knuckles and Rouge, another set on fire by Blaze, two others struck by bolts of lightning, three attacked by the Chaotix, and several others being pulled towards a black hole! The Phantom Emperor stopped at a distance from his troops and held his weapon behind him, above his shoulder. He sent his arm forward at an angle, and as he straightened his elbow, he released the golden star. It spun rapidly and arced over his troops, collided with Amy's hammer, sending it out of her hands and away from her, as the Star changed its course, heading towards one group of Resistance Soldiers. Many tried to get out of the way, but they were too slow. The star ripped through them, scattering them in all directions as they either flew off the cliff or landed near the edge of it. The star spun back around towards the Resistance and knocked the Wispon out of {Buddy}'s hand. It continued still, as those of the Resistance either ducked or moved out of its way. It barely missed Blaze as it buzzed by her head, it continued on, being beyond the Resistance, heading towards the Altar of the Emeralds. It curved and headed back towards the Resistance, some of those of the Resistance were busy attacking the Phantoms, but others were looking back at the star. It was headed towards Tikal and {Buddy} pointed behind her, Tikal turned and looked as the star was headed towards her direction. Time seemed to slow down as the star was inches away; less than a second passed as a loud "ting" was heard, followed by the light sound of something hitting the ground.

The star continued its path as it headed towards the Phantom Emperor. He caught the star as others looked over at the orange Echidna that appeared to be lifelessly lying on the ground. "Tikal!", screamed Silver as he and others ran over to her. The Phantoms were avoiding, blocking, or countering attacks from the Resistance and those aiding them as the leader observed. Vector flipped Tikal over to see a dent in the side of her golden band was dented while Knuckles was helping up injured Resistance Soldiers. "I think she's going to be okay, she's just been knocked out.", said Tails as he carefully looked at the dent. They continued checking Tikal as the others were engaged in battle.

The Phantom Emperor hovered over the Phantom Troops and swung the star at Sonic, which Sonic avoided by leaning back. He then swung it upwards towards Shadow, which sent the black hedgehog up and back. Shadow flipped and recovered, then ran towards the Phantom Emperor. Shadow sent a kick at the emperor, but he hovered to the side and Shadow attacked a trooper instead. The Phantom Emperor then threw his weapon at Rouge, but she moved out of the way; however, the star curved and hit Omega. A loud "clunk" could be heard and the robot fell to the ground as the star returned after contact, the Phantom Emperor catching the star. E-123 Omega had sparks flying from the top side of shoulder right as he tried to get up, while the Phantoms were beating up Sonic, Shadow, and Silver, as well as Tails and any others still fighting. The Resistance Soldiers that were injured either got up and continued to fight or were taken near the Altar of the Emeralds to rest or wait.

One of the Phantoms managed to strike Sonic, sending him back into Tails. Both tumbled about on the ground before getting up. Knuckles was blasted by a large wave of water, Espio was being chased by bolts of fire, Amy was blasted back by a rush of wind, Charmy was being kicked around by several of the Phantom Troopers, Silver was battling another Phantom in a telekinetic battle of control, but Silver was losing his and was starting to be taken over control by the Phantom, Blaze was dodging the streaks of lightning and jets of water being shot at her, and Shadow was being bounced around from Phantom to wall and to another Phantom. The Phantom Emperor had made his way behind his subjects as his weapon reverted back to a staff.

He pointed the top of it at towards the sky at an angle and spoke, "[Levitate]". All of the Resistance (besides the soldiers that had fallen off the cliff) was lifted into the air. "Whoa!", said Amy and some of the Resistance Soldiers. "I can't move!", said Silver. The Phantom Emperor then held out his free hand and the Resistance, including Blaze and Eggman, were thrown back against the altar. "Uagh!", some Resistance Soldiers said as they collided with the stone. Sonic, Shadow, Silver, Knuckles, and Blaze landed on the steps as they looked up, seeing the glow of the Emeralds. All five realized something important that could turn the tide of the battle.

They got up and went up the steps, each had the same idea, as they held hands around the Master Emerald. The Chaos Emeralds moved off from their pedestals and floated to them and started to spin around them. Everyone slowly got up and watched the show unfold as they stood. The Emeralds glowed brightly as they spun around the five gathered around the Master Emerald and Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, Silver, and Blaze started to glow. The Phantoms quickly sprinted towards the altar; "Oh no! They're going to try and stop them from transforming!", said Amy.

{Buddy} quickly got in front the Altar with his Hover Wispon in hand, followed by Amy with her hammer ready. Others saw their bravery and joined in to aid them in keeping the Phantoms away from the Altar of the Emeralds. "We won't let you pass, no matter what!", said Amy with an assertive tone. "Yeah!", added Tails. The Phantoms continued and the Resistance took action, both sides charging at one another. {Buddy} fired a blasted a shockwave as the Phantoms were pushed back a little but sustained no damage. Amy ran and swung her hammer around as hard as she could, smacking several of the Phantoms, leaving barely a scratch on their chrome armor. The soldiers were using all of their resources and threw smoke bombs into the group of Phantom Troopers, but the smoke wouldn't bother them too much, as their skills in combat are very high. Some Resistance Soldiers ran into the smoke and used whatever Wispon they had. Vector ran in as well and hammer-fisted one of the Phantom Troopers, while Espio used his ninja skills to go from one Trooper to another and chop, kick, punch, and sweep them, with little success. Omega slid in and easily locked on to the Phantoms through the smoke and flew up using his jet boosters then brought out his machine guns and started raining down bullets, and as he flew over and continued firing in the general vicinity of the enemy, his arms would eventually be behind him as he landed behind them. He stopped firing and turned around then boosted to them and started attacking using a wide range of his weapons, including physical attacks, punching, kicking, shooting lasers, miniguns, flamethrowers, and occasionally his wrist cannons. Charmy flew into the smoke as well and used his Dash ability to dart at one of the Phantoms, he quickly reversed his position and revealed his stinger! His stinger didn't pierce through the armor, but it did manage to slip under one of the layers. Charmy used his whirlwind ability to knock over his opponent then quickly flew over and tore off the layer at the top and stung the Phantom Trooper directly before the Trooper could react! The Phantom went down but got up and it and Charmy continued in a battle of speed and power! Eggman didn't dare go into the smoke, but if he saw a Phantom Trooper exit the smoke, he fired a laser beam at them from his hand!

The fight continued to rage on, attacks of every kind were being exchanged from both sides. Though the smoke was becoming more of an obstacle to the Resistance, they nonetheless continued fighting through it. The armor of the Phantoms was also an obstacle on its own, making it almost impossible to land any kind of attack. The Phantoms also had powerful weapons in addition to their impressive fighting skills. The Resistance knew that it couldn't keep up the fight without more help, the Phantoms were just too tough and strong.


	10. Chapter 10: Super Battle

**Chapter 10**

 _Super Battle_

Everyone was giving it their all and some were starting to do some kind of damage to the Phantoms, but not near enough to stop them. The smoke was clearing as the fight continued, everyone was fiercely battling. The Resistance was doing its best to keep the Phantom Troopers from getting to the altar, but slowly they were getting closer. The smoke was almost gone as both sides were in the heat of battle to notice what was occurring at the Altar of the Emeralds, except for the Phantom Emperor, who hovered above everyone in battle through the remaining smoke. The smoke had completely cleared as the Phantom Emperor landed at the bottom step of the altar and looked up; at the top of the steps revealed five powerful figures with brightly colored aura.

"We'll take it from here!", said Super Knuckles as he looked down at the Emperor of the Phantoms. Everyone stopped fighting and looked over at the magnificent site of the five heroic figures standing at the top of the steps of the altar. The Chao even came out from behind the altar to witness their great presence, but with great caution. Super Sonic, Super Shadow, Super Silver, and Burning Blaze flew over to the others and looked down at the Phantom Troopers, while Super Knuckles kept his eyes focused on the Phantom Emperor. "You're mine.", Super Knuckles said.

Time seemed to be slow as the site of the transformed heroes shocked and surprised everyone, except the Phantoms. The eerie silence was broken as Sonic made the next move, flying down into the group of Phantom Troopers and attacking them with seemingly impossible speeds! Super Shadow, Super Silver, and Burning Blaze joined in as the Resistance gathered on either side of the Altar of the Emeralds with Chao watching in their numbers as well. Super Knuckles and the Phantom Emperor continued to glare at each other before the Emperor backed up away from the Altar of the Emeralds and got into a stance. Super Knuckles jumped off the top step and landed a few feet away from the Emperor, and also got into a stance, prepared for battle.

Super Knuckles punched and slid forward at the Emperor at high speed. The Phantom Emperor didn't move as Super Knuckles made contact with the chrome armor. The attack didn't even scratch it; "What!?", said Super Knuckles, surprised. The Phantom Emperor quickly struck Super Knuckles with his free hand, backhanding his head. "Agh!", yelled Knuckles as he fell to the ground and left a crack in it. He got up and then smirked at the Phantom Emperor as he dusted himself off. "I hope you can do more than that.", Knuckles said with a cocked attitude as he wiped the blood from his mouth. The Emperor gave no expression as he hovered back and grabbed his staff with both of his hands. Knuckles came at him again but faked a punch and did a kick to the side at the armored Emperor. It hit but the Phantom Emperor didn't budge; meanwhile, the Phantom Troopers were dealing with the other heroes in their super forms.

Super Sonic was zipping through the Phantoms and mopping the floor with them with the help of Super Shadow and Super Silver too, while Burning Blaze was shooting large balls of fire at them. The Phantom Troopers were flying out of the group in all directions as Super Sonic, Super Shadow, and Super Silver punched, kicked, homing attacked, and used their Chaos powers to dent and crack the armor that the Troopers wore. They couldn't keep up with all three of the hedgehogs and missed Blaze when using their weapons because of her speed. Within a matter of minutes, the Phantom Troopers were destroyed, the heroes finishing the job with a Chaos blast performed together, leaving the ground cracked and broken! The others cheered but focused back on the fight between Super Knuckles and the Phantom Emperor.

Super Knuckles pulled himself up near the rock that he was hurled next to by the Phantom Emperor. He punched the large rock, shattering it into pieces, then he punched and kicked the pieces at the Emperor. The Phantom Emperor spun his staff around and it either deflected or broke the pieces. "He's good.", commented Super Sonic as the four others in super form landed near the Master Emerald. They all watched the intense battle between the Phantom Emperor and Super Knuckles, but Super Knuckles wasn't doing too well.

"I am the leader of the Resistance!", Said Super Knuckles as he expressed a determined and angered look. "I-", Knuckles said but couldn't finish as everyone watched the Phantom Emperor appear right in front of Super Knuckles with his fist in his gut. Super Knuckles hit the ground and lost his super form instantly. "Knuckles!", yelled Sonic. "Oh no!", yelled Amy. "Ahw!", yelled Tails, while others were gasping or yelled something similar. Knuckles stirred around on the floor trying to get up, but the Phantom Emperor floated down as his feet lowered from the saucer-like object he'd been using to float. He walked over to the injured Knuckles and kicked him into the wall then began to punch him with his free hand at an incredible speed in quick succession. 'That's the leader! He has the Phantom Ruby!', Espio thought as he saw the being more closely. "No! Knuckles, no!", yelled Amy; meanwhile, the commotion was faintly heard by Tikal as she regained consciousness.

"Ohhh! My head!", she said aloud as she held it and sat up. Vector was next to her on one side and Amy on the other as they both tended to Tikal and explained what was going on, as Tails felt concern for Knuckles. 'What should I do?', he thought. The Phantom Emperor stopped and turned as Knuckles coughed up blood and fell forward into the dirt, knocked out. 'Damn! I thought he'd be able to do something!', Super Sonic thought as he looked at Knuckles, and he and Burning Blaze hovered over to the Altar and landed next to the steps. "Let me try.", said Super Shadow as he hovered over to the Phantom Emperor and landed a few feet in front of him.

The Phantom Emperor stared at Super Shadow with no emotional expression as Super Shadow stared back. Super Shadow darted forward at super speed, but he instantly stopped as he was mere inches away from the Emperor. The top of the Phantom Emperor's staff was against Super Shadow's head as a noise came from it (Phantom Ruby sfx) and Shadow couldn't move. He kicked Super Shadow away as the gold hedgehog with red stripes flipped backward off the cliff. Super Shadow managed to recover himself and flew back over to continue the fight. He started to fly around the Emperor at high speed, causing a visible rotation of air to form around him. It became a vortex that sucked up debris and rocks around the area, but the Phantom Emperor tapped the ground with his staff and the Phantom Ruby beckoned, causing the vortex to disappear and reappear around the Resistance! "Grrr!", growled Super Shadow as he stopped and saw everyone except those in super form and the Phantom Emperor get sucked into the vortex. Super Sonic and Burning Blaze sprung into action, grabbing them and the Chao from the clutches of the vortex. They set them down near Knuckles so they could use the large boulders for safety. Super Shadow flew up into the air and hovered, looking down at the Phantom Emperor. "Chaos Spear!", shouted Super Shadow as he swiped his hand to the side, releasing a blast of energy in the shape of a spear at the Emperor. The Phantom Emperor held out his free hand as the energy approached and redirected it right back to Super Shadow. "Huh!?", Super Shadow said while performing the move again. Both Chaos Spears collided, and split each other apart into pieces and faded away. "Whoa! He sent the attack back!", said Tails. "Just what are you?", asked Super Shadow, but the Phantom Emperor stayed silent.

'This guy needs to be finished off soon', thought Super Silver as he watched the fight. The Phantom Emperor's eyes flashed and an array of purple energy pulsed from both of his eyes. Super Shadow's body jolted and as the white of his eyes turned black and his eyes turned magenta. 'That's it, I'm not waiting!', Super Silver thought as he rushed at the Phantom Emperor. He was met by a knee to the stomach that was delivered by Super Shadow. "What are you doing, Shadow!?", Super Silver asked after he coughed and groaned. Super Shadow then grabbed him by the neck and slammed him down into the ground, causing it to bust. "Shadow, what's your problem!?", asked Super Sonic as his facial expression showed concern. Super Shadow laughed wickedly as he quickly dropped down towards Super Silver and stomped on him with both feet at the same time. "That's enough!", commanded Super Sonic, as he flew at Shadow. "What's going on here?", asked Espio. "Hmm.", Eggman remarked as he rubbed his chin.

Sonic came at Super Shadow with a punch, but Super Shadow grabbed his fist and twisted Super Sonic's arm. "Agh!", yelled Super Sonic as he then tried to kick at Super Shadow, but it was blocked by his other hand and then pushed away. Super Shadow then turned to the side quickly while lifting his leg up to kick, and sent Super Sonic back; "Ugh!", exclaimed Super Sonic as he crashed into the remaining stairs of the altar, further destroying them. "I see what's happening now.", said Eggman. "What would that be?", asked Espio. "Well, isn't it obvious? He's being controlled.", Eggman said, rhetorically. "I see now. So he's now Phantom Super Shadow.", said Espio. "Controlled?", Super Silver said questionably as he slowly got up, but Phantom Super Shadow kicked him up and then punched him back down before kicking him away. Super Silver growled as he got to his feet. "If that's how you want it then!", said Super Silver before flying around Phantom Super Shadow while firing Chaos Energy at him. Phantom Super Shadow blinked and appeared at one point then another repeatedly, avoiding each shot. "No way you can be that fast!", said Super Silver. "Snap out of it, Shadow!", shouted Vector. Super Sonic got back up and saw the Phantom Emperor jump up towards Super Silver. "Silver, watch out!", Super Sonic exclaimed, but as Super Silver turned to face the Emperor, it was too late.

Phantom Super Shadow punched the side of Super Silver's head as The Phantom Emperor stuck out his free hand and a clear magenta structure, in the shape of the Phantom Ruby formed around Super Silver as he began to blink. Super Silver lost his super form, while he was being encased. The Phantom Emperor then sent out a pulse of purple energy that made everyone watching unable to move. The Phantom Emperor's staff transformed into a golden blade with the magenta gem in the handle. He struck and slashed at the magenta enclosure around Silver at impossible speed as Phantom Super Shadow used Chaos Energy to attack the other side. With a vertical slice to the structure, the Phantom Emperor pulled back his sword and a magenta aura formed around it. Sonic finally forced himself to move and headed over towards them. The Phantom Emperor stabbed at the magenta enclosure before Super Sonic made it and the enclosure was shattered as it exploded, everyone else could only watch helplessly. Both Silver and Phantom Super Shadow were now out of their super form and both fell to the ground, completely limp, while also, the Phantom Emperor released his control over Phantom Super Shadow.

Super Sonic descended to the ground and fell to his knees as he looked down. "I couldn't do anything...", he said. The Phantom Emperor hovered down and landed in front of Super Sonic. Super Sonic was kicked away without time to think, and he flew backward towards the altar. His head collided with the destroyed steps and he bounced upwards and rolled to the Master Emerald. His head was bruised, battered, and was bleeding. His body was in serious pain, but he wasn't going to quit now or ever until his last breath. He balled up his fists and hit the ground as he got to his knees. He tried to stand as he grabbed the top of the Master Emerald to pull himself up. 'This isn't over yet! Not until I give it everything I've got! I can't quit, and I won't, not now, or ever! I must protect my friends at all cost!', Super Sonic thought to himself.


	11. Chapter 11: A Ruby's Identity

**Chapter 11**

 _A Ruby's Identity_

The Phantom Emperor started up the steps, but Burning Blaze got in his way. "Oh no, you don't!", she said. She started blinking; "Not yet!", she said as she felt her superstate form beginning to fade. The Phantom Emperor backhanded her away as she lost her superstate and headed towards Tikal and Vector. She hit the wall and fell back behind Vector before Vector knew what happened; meanwhile, Super Sonic noticed that the Master Emerald was glowing as he had his hands on it after lifting himself up. Super Sonic felt a lot of energy surge through him from it and he looked around and noticed the Chaos Emeralds were also glowing.

The Chaos Emeralds began to blink white as the Emperor of the Phantoms arrived at the top step. The Master Emerald turned bright green and the Chaos Emeralds grew in size. "I sense intense energy coming off from the Chaos Emeralds! What's going on?", Asked Tikal as she was laying down with her eyes closed, still in pain. Each Chaos Emerald grew to the size of the Master Emerald as everyone watched the rare event. "The Super Emeralds!", both Tails and Eggman pointed out in unison.

Super Sonic gave a smirk to the Phantom Emperor, as he began to turn white. The Phantom only stared as the hedgehog was captured in a bright light. "Now you'll see what happens when you mess with my friends!", Sonic yelled and then screamed as his aura flared up like fire around him. The light became so bright that everyone had to look away. The aura became multicolored and his fur started to turn as white as snow as the Emperor took a step back. The light disappeared, revealing a white hedgehog with a colorful aura, and everyone could feel the intense energy of the transformed hero.

"Hyper Sonic!", yelled Tails as Doctor Eggman yelled, "Hyper Sonic!?". "This fight just entered another level!", Hyper Sonic said confidently with his fist balled up and near his face. He looked at the Phantom Emperor with a smirk then grinned as he chuckled. "This is the most powerful form I have ever achieved. Think you can handle it?", Hyper Sonic asked. The Phantom Emperor remained silent but jumped back onto the ground away from the bottom step of the Altar. Sonic seemed to vanish and reappear several feet in front of the Emperor. "He's so quick now, I didn't even see him move!", remarked Vector. "Yeah.", said Espio. "Cool!", said Charmy. "You can do it, Sonic!", cheered Amy.

Tikal felt better as she stood up and walked over to the nearest injured Mobian, which happened to be Blaze. She began to heal Blaze and then Knuckles after. Hyper Sonic and Emperor of the Phantoms were staring each other down as the tension between them grew. 'Not going out there.', Tikal thought to herself seeing Shadow and Silver on the other side of Hyper Sonic. Hyper Sonic was everyone's last hope, either he would be victorious, or he would lose, and if he loses, who knows what horrors might await everyone.

The Phantom Emperor made the first move, running towards Hyper Sonic then disappeared and reappeared directly in front of him. Sonic hop-stepped left almost instantly as the Emperor attempted a punch. "Hehe. You'll have to be faster than that.", Hyper Sonic boasted as he rubbed his nose then performed a backflip, and tucked his knees in and wrapped his arms around them, spinning rapidly in the air. He blinked and appeared behind the Phantom Emperor and untucked his legs, kicking him forward. Hyper Sonic did a handspring forward and then blinked again and appeared next to the Emperor, kicking him to the side. "What's wrong? Can't keep up?", Sonic Boasted as he kept appearing all around the Phantom Emperor and punched, kicked, and kneed him about, every which way.

At one point, the Phantom Emperor threw out his hand and time froze as Sonic was coming at him. The Phantom Emperor then started to rapidly attack Hyper Sonic before he allowed time to continue, and Hyper Sonic fell to the ground and held his stomach. "Agh!", Hyper Sonic yelled in pain. "What just happened!? Why is Sonic on the ground?", asked Amy. "He must have manipulated time!", answered Eggman as he too was surprised. The Phantom Emperor then kicked Hyper Sonic away before holding his staff in the air. "How in the world is he still able to fight Sonic in his Hyper form!?", Asked Tails. The Phantom Emperor lifted up into the air as everyone wondered if Hyper Sonic was okay. Everyone was worried, especially Tails; suddenly, Espio remembered something that important.

"He has the Phantom Ruby!", shouted Espio. "What!? I thought we got rid of it!", exclaimed Tails. 'That's right! How careless of me to forget! I could get it back!', Eggman selfishly plotted over in his mind as a small grin appeared on his face. Tails ran over to Hyper Sonic as he knelt down to check on him, then looked up at the Phantom Emperor as he had both arms out. The Phantom Ruby within his staff lit up as swirls of black and magenta colors began to appear around everyone's surroundings.

Hyper Sonic pushed Tails away and got up. "I'm fine, Tails.", Hyper Sonic said to him. Tails flew back but froze in midair by the Phantom Emperor. "Tails!", shouted Hyper Sonic as he looked up at his best friend. He jumped up and homing attacked at the Emperor, which caused him to release Tails from his power. Tails quickly made his way over to the Altar, as he knew that he wouldn't be of much help against such a foe. Hyper Sonic began to constantly homing attack the Emperor as everything became random swirls of magenta and black. "I feel like I'm falling!", said Amy. "M-me too!", said Vector. "It's a trick!", said Tails.

The Phantom Emperor smacked Hyper Sonic away with his staff. "No more playing!", Hyper Sonic said as he recovered and hovered at the same altitude as the Emperor. Sonic streaked across the entire area, breaking the sound barrier and the illusion that the leader of the Phantoms had casted. "That's incredible!", commented Charmy as he couldn't see Hyper Sonic. Hyper Sonic used his Lightning Attack at the Phantom Emperor, as he flipped to the ground and cratered. "Now I'll show you what I can really do!", Hyper Sonic said as he flew all over the place near the ground, causing the ground to break and the broken pieces to get caught in the strong air current that formed behind him as he moved. The Phantom Emperor got sucked into it and was being slung around. He stabbed the ground with his staff and hung on before the Phantom Ruby made a familiar sound, causing the air current to fade away. He stood up as Hyper Sonic stopped in front of him.

Hyper Sonic quickly kicked him up, the Emperor flew straight up faster than sound! Hyper Sonic appeared above him and did a flip and a kick that sent him down at an angle, but he was redirected horizontally near the ground as Hyper Sonic appeared next to him and kicked him again. The Phantom Emperor managed to bounce off the wall and rocketed back at Hyper Sonic. He collided with him as Hyper Sonic flew off the cliff and through another cliff. He quickly recovered and did another Lightning Attack, as everyone closed their eyes due to the bright flash that followed. The Emperor rolled and flew down to the ground as he dropped his staff. "How do you like that!?", Hyper Sonic commented. The Phantom Emperor arose from the hole in the ground. His armor was cracked and in some areas, it had broken off.

Sonic repeated his previous attack again and again as he zipped by the enemy and appeared standing on the ground. The Phantom Emperor wasn't seen as everyone looked around, but after a few seconds, a body fell from high in the sky. The Phantom Emperor slammed ten feet into the ground and his armor was shattered by this point. A hand reached out of the hole as the Emperor pulled himself up out of it before hobbling while trying to stand. "He's still alive!?", said Knuckles, astonished. He looked completely wrecked as his body was busted up; he held out his hand as he was limped over and his entire body began to crack as magenta light peered out of them.

"He did it!", Yelled Charmy as everyone watched in amazement. Hyper Sonic looked at the others and gave a thumbs up while smiling. "No, wait! Look!", exclaimed Tikal as she pointed behind Hyper Sonic. "Huh?", Hyper Sonic said alerted as he turned around to see that the Phantom Emperor's body fell off of him, revealing himself to actually be fully crystalline like the Phantom Ruby itself. "What!? How!?", Hyper Sonic exclaimed in wonder. The Phantom swiped his hand to the side as a massive black hole with magenta colors formed near Sonic as his hyper form ceased.

"No!", exclaimed Eggman as he ran over to the staff that glowed brightly as the Phantom Ruby made one of the familiar sounds. Before Eggman could grab it, the staff flew towards the massive black hole. "Noooo!", He said angrily as we watched it enter the hole. "Come on, Eggman! We have to go now!", exclaimed Sonic as he started to get pulled into the black hole, while the Phantom Emperor walked over. {Buddy} quickly ran over to Sonic as the Phantom Emperor grabbed Sonic's shoulder. "Aughh!", yelled Sonic as he was being pulled on. {Buddy} jumped and used {his} shoulder to knock the Phantom Emperor away from Sonic as he was sucked into the black mass. {Buddy} had {his} grappling tool readied as {he} grabbed Sonic and shot out the grappling hook at the Altar of the Emeralds. It wrapped around one of the pillars and both {he} and Sonic were pulled to safety as everyone headed to the Master Emerald Shrine while Tikal began saying the mantra her grandmother had taught her. "The servers are the 7 Chaos. Chaos is power... Power enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.", Tikal chanted. The Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds began to glow and a bright light engulfed everything.


	12. Chapter 12: The End of A War

**Chapter 12**

 _The End of A War_

{Buddy}, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, Eggman, Rouge, E-123 Omega, Vector, Espio, Charmy, Silver, and the Resistance Soldiers found themselves standing near the Master Emerald on Angel Island. "Angel Island?", Knuckles said, surprised. "How did we-", Silver said, incompletely. "Where's Blaze and Tikal?", Asked Rouge. "I guess everything is back to normal?", asked Charmy. "I suppose it is.", replied Espio. "Maybe she was returned to her dimension.", Vector replied to Rouge. "Look! The Emeralds have returned!", said Knuckles. "Alright!.", commented Sonic exuberantly. "Everyone get ready. I'll Chaos Control us to the Resistance base.", said Shadow as he went to the top step of the Altar of the Emeralds, which in the modern state is in ruins.

"Chaos Control!", shouted Shadow as a light captured everyone there. Everyone, including Eggman, was transported outside of the Resistance base. "Did you forget about me?", Asked Eggman. "Hm?", remarked Tails. "Now I know where your base is. Hahaha.", Eggman said and laughed teasingly. "Well after all that's happened, it doesn't matter. We can all take a break.", implied Silver. "Wait here.", said Tails as he walked over to the entrance of the base and unlocked it. He went inside and stirred around, the garage opened and he rolled out of it in a four-wheel red vehicle with two large lights on the front. It resembled a Jeep but was lower to the ground and the frame was not as tall. Tails drove up next to Eggman and put it in park before turning it off. "Here. Use this to get back to your base.", offered Tails as he hopped out. "R-really!? You would give me, your enemy a free ride to get back home!?", Eggman asked very surprisedly. "As much as we don't like you, yes.", said Tails as he gave the doctor the keys. "I honestly don't know what to say!", Eggman replied, before taking the keys. He jumped in the vehicle, put the key in the ignition, and started it up. "Maybe we aren't so much of enemies after all.", he teased. "Ha-ha! Yeah right.", remarked Knuckles as everyone else laughed. "Threat terminated!", commented Omega. Everyone started laughing at the joke as Eggman smiled slightly and drove off into the sunset, heading back to his base. Everyone waved before returning their attention to Knuckles as he called everyone to attention.

"We still have a lot to do around here!", Knuckles commanded. "Yes, sir!", shouted the soldiers as they saluted. "I'll start stocking the shelves", commented Vector. "Wait.", said Knuckles. "Huh?", Vector replied. "Before we get started, I want to thank everyone for being apart of this team and working together to end this war. We didn't give up and pushed through to the very end. That takes guts and most of all, it takes teamwork and friendship. So thank you for the efforts.", Knuckles said. "Nice words.", commented Rouge. Everyone nodded and some cheered as Sonic walked up to Knuckles and put a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for leading us. Without your leadership, none of this would have been possible.", said Sonic. "Yep.", said Espio. "Yeah! And it goes to show that even in the end, everyone can come together peacefully!", said Vector as he walked over to Espio and Charmy and put his hands around both of them. "Weee!", said Charmy happily. "Now let's get in there and start working!", ordered Knuckles.

Everyone headed to the base, some started work on repairs, others worked on organizing supplies, and a few worked on cleaning. Tails walked up to Knuckles in the command center. "We will probably need to relocate the base since Eggman knows where we are now.", Tails said. "You're probably right. But for now, let's enjoy this peace.", Knuckles responded. "Well, Knuckles. I'll be heading off now!", said Sonic. "Okay. Take care of yourself!", Knuckles responded as those that noticed waved at him. He started out the door as {Buddy} followed. Both Sonic and {Buddy} met outside as they stopped and faced each other. "Thanks to you, we won this war and saved me. So thank you, {Buddy}.", said Sonic as {Buddy} nodded. Sonic held out his fist as he looked at {Buddy}; "You stay here and help out, okay?", asked Sonic. {Buddy} made a fist and it met with Sonic's as he nodded. Sonic ran off as {Buddy} headed back inside after the fist bump. As this was happening, the Jackal that lost was making plans for the future.

"This isn't over!", Infinite said as he slammed his hand down on a large boulder near a forest. He had walked many miles as his rugged clothing had been worn from the battle with Sonic and {Buddy}. "I will reform my squad to make up for what I've lost! It will be better than ever! I'll show everyone!", the Jackal said with a serious and assertive tone. He looked out at the sunset as he thought of the day when he would have a squad and be successful again. 'Everything can go back to the way it was before all of this absurdity happened.', he thought as he walked into the forest. "When that day comes, I'll make it so that we aren't just a mere squad anymore. We'll be something even better.", Infinite thought as he continued.

"Welcome back, sir!", Cubot greeted Eggman as he walked into his base. "Repairs are still being made.", said Orbot. "Good! I'll be taking a break for a bit anyway.", replied Eggman as he walked to his desk and started picking up his plans. He rolled them up, walked over to the closet in his office, and put them in a tube. "Even a genius like me needs a break now and then.", Eggman said as he returned to his desk to put things that were on top of it, into the drawers beneath the top of the table. He then went to his large monitor in the main area of his base and sat down in a chair. He propped his feet on the desk as he thought about what he should do on his break. He started thinking about what new plans he could work on to foil Sonic and his friends. He stopped himself, realizing what he was doing. "Is this really all I can think about right now!?", he said to himself almost ashamed of the fact that even in his peace, he only thought about what he could to get rid of Sonic. He sighed; "What am I doing? How could I be thinking of such things after they were so generous!?", he continued. Eggman fetched some paper and a pen and began writing what other things he should do on his break. As he wrote, the notes started to include things similar to, "then build a trap here and capture Sonic!" at the end of some of his ideas. "What have I become to not even focus on anything but this-this blue hedgehog!?", he shouted as he stood up and ripped up the notes. He plopped back in his seat frustrated and tried to clear his head.

Later on, at the Resistance base, Knuckles had called a meeting. "I need everyone's attention!", Knuckles said loudly over the talking of others. "I've been thinking. I think the Resistance should be disbanded.", Knuckles said as some looked around confused. "We'll still help out with rebuilding the destroyed cities and such, but afterward, we will dismiss the Resistance and go our separate ways.", he continued. "I'll also be making a wearable device for everyone so that if the time comes for the Resistance to be reformed, I'll be able to notify everyone.", said Tails. "I'll plan to relocate the base sometime in the future as well.", said Knuckles. "Let's be honest here. Eggman probably hasn't changed.", said Silver. "My thoughts exactly.", replied Knuckles. "We all did well.", said Rouge. "We had fun too!", said Charmy. "Yes. And with that, I want to say thank you again. Now dismissed!", said Knuckles.


End file.
